Oil prices stall despite Russia-Saudi deal on supply cuts

Oil prices continued to drop on Monday, despite a deal between producers on cuts to output coming into effect this weekend.

It comes after a fierce oil price war erupted between Russia and Saudi Arabia, which only ended last week after producers agreed to cut production in a bid to stabilise the market.

Despite the main producers - including Russia and Saudi Arabia - agreeing to record cuts, oil prices remained static on Monday with the effects of the coronavirus epidemic hitting demand.

The OPEC members - of which Riyadh is the leader - and Russia had agreed to a cut of nearly 10 percent of total global supplies, after the price of oil fell way below the $30 a barrel mark.

Yet demand is way below normal levels due to the coronavirus crisis seeing lockdowns in place for more than half the world's population.

The market is also awash with oil with storage facilities at full capacity.

Businesses have been crippled by the curfews and  a downturn in trade due to the coronavirus epidemic.

This has seen oil stay at around £23 a barrel for US futures and $31 for Brent, despite a brief increase prices.

Saudi Arabia and Russia were pitched in an oil war over output, which saw increases in production despite a huge drop in demand.

US producers had been among the hardest hit by the drop in prices, with Washington working hard to stabilise the market.

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