Oil Jumps 20% as Economies Ease Coronavirus Lockdowns

Oil prices surged by 20% on Tuesday as traders go optimistic about the moves made by several major economies to ease coronavirus closures, allowing more demand.

The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) settled 20% higher at $ 24.52 a barrel, while the Brent crude rose jumped by 14% to $ 31.02 a barrel.

As the world returns to normality, Italy, France, and Spain, who have faced some of the most stringent restrictions in the world since mid-March, are among the countries that ease closures procedures or put a schedule to doing so.

Some US states have also moved to ease closures, with unnecessary businesses and beaches reopening in some parts of the country.

Optimism has helped the black gold record the longest series of daily gains in more than nine months to  strengthen the argument that the worst may be over for oil, given the fact that producers have begun to cut supplies. However, as oil inventories continue to rise, crude oil prices remain subject to renewed setbacks.

It is noteworthy that oil prices turned negative for the first time in history two weeks ago due to a lack of storage options and low demand for the commodity.