Extended coronavirus outbreak could lower oil demand, prices: Moody's

Global oil demand and prices will fall due to extended coronavirus outbreak, Moody's Investors Services said on Thursday.

"The ongoing coronavirus outbreak has reduced economic activity in China, the world's largest oil importer," it said in a note. "Estimates of the short-term reduction in global oil demand have already proved deep enough to weaken crude prices in recent days"
"An extended disruption of economic activity in China would also reverberate around the world given the size and interconnectedness of the Chinese economy. This disruption, in turn, would have a significant impact on global oil markets," Moody's said. "We would expect the rise in oil inventories to be potentially offset, at least to some degree, by cuts in supply."