Oil prices rebounded on Monday with the restart of some Asian countries purchasing crude oil, resulting in marginal increases in global oil demand.
The price of the international benchmark Brent crude was trading at $20.58 per barrel at 0701 GMT for a 7.38% decrease after closing Friday at $22.22 a barrel while American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was trading at $19.60 a barrel on Monday at the same time.
Due to coronavirus-related low oil demand and cumulative rising supply, oil producers are desperately seeking additional storage, which is rapidly running out around the world.
Algeria's Energy Minister Mohamed Arkab said on Sunday that despite the strong drop in global oil prices due to the COVID-19 outbreak, prices are expected to recover in the near future.
Arkab anticipates that global oil prices will reach $40 per barrel in mid June, after the output cuts of OPEC+ take effect from May 1.
Oil producers in the OPEC+ group agreed to curb their total oil output by 10 million barrels per day (bpd) from May 1 until June 30 -- much less than the market expectation of 15-20 million bpd.
In addition, some refineries in China, India, Japan and South Korea have begun purchasing crude oil to take advantage of low prices, which in turn has revived oil demand in Asia and caused some increase in prices.
The number of oil rigs, an indicator of short-term production in the country, has fallen over the past six weeks. The count fell by 60 to reach 378 for the week ending April 24, from 438 the previous week.
By Gulsen Cagatay
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr