Everyone Suffers From Oil-Price War: Economist

After Russia refused to reduce oil production in Vienna in early March, Saudi Arabia as de facto leader of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, decided to produce more crude oil as a counterattack. Saudi Arabia announced that daily production would unprecedently increase to 12.3 million barrels per day in April, 25 percent more than it produced in February. Following that, Russia suggested it would raise output to 11.2 million barrels per day. The Brent crude price plunged by 24 percent to $34 a barrel in one day, the largest percentage drop in the past 30 years. Analysts cast the decisions to lift production levels as strategies to gain more global market share and political influences. Power has shifted among the United States, Russia, and Saudi Arabia, especially after the United States became a major oil exporter by boosting its shale industry in recent years. An oil glut emerged as the coronavirus broke out throughout the world, with oil demand expected to decline in 2020, imposing pressure on oil prices. Small countries that heavily rely on oil revenue might bear acute pain during the global oil-price war. – YaleGlobal