Oil prices claw back ground post crash

Oilpricessurgedmorethansixper centinAsiantradeTuesdayfollowingheavylossesadayearlieraftertopexporterSaudiArabiabeganapricewarwithRussia.

West Texas Intermediate was trading up 6.1 per centatmorethan$33 a barrel while Brent crude advanced 6.6 per centto over $36 a barrel.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

Priceshad plunged by almost a third Monday, the biggest drop since the 1991 GulfWarafterRiyadh drove through massivepricecuts in a bid to win market share.

That cameafterRussiarejected calls fromoil-exporting group OPEC, which includesSaudiArabia, for deeper output cuts to combat a coronavirus-fuelled slump in demand.

The bust-up signals the disintegration of an alliance between OPEC andRussia, the world's second-biggestoilproducer, which sought to control supply to supportprices.

"Investors are buckling in for a protracted and precarious battle of theoilmega powers for world dominance," said Stephen Innes, chief market strategist at AxiCorp.

He said it was unclear whether theSaudimove was "a short-term strategy or will be sustained for a prolonged period -- which makes the outlook for crudepricesextraordinarily uncertain".