Oil extends gains on expectations for coordinated effort to offset coronavirus impact

Wednesday, 4 March 2020 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

A seagull flies in front of an oil platform in the Bouri Oilfield some 70 nautical miles north of the coast of Libya - Reuters

LONDON (Reuters): Oil prices extended gains on Tuesday on expectations that central banks will provide financial stimulus to offset the impact of the coronavirus outbreak and on growing optimism that OPEC will order deeper output cuts this week.

Brent crude LCOc1 rose 79 cents per barrel, or 1.5%, to $52.69 per barrel by 1305 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) CLc1 was up 85 cents, or 1.8%, at $47.60 a barrel.

Brent and WTI have rebounded somewhat over the past two days after sliding more than 20% from their January peak on signs the spread of the coronavirus had dented fuel demand.