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Price of July WTI Crude Futures Rises Above $30 Per Barrel for First Time Since 17 March

The oil market has been extremely volatile since early March, as the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the novel coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. Investor optimism has risen after several countries announced plans to ease their coronavirus lockdowns and allow businesses to reopen, driving up oil demand.
Sputnik

The price of futures contracts for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude with delivery in July surged to over $30 per barrel in the early hours of Monday for the first time since 17 March, market data shows.

As of 01:01 am Moscow time (10.01 pm GMT 17 May), the June futures for WTI crude oil increased in price by 1.80 percent to $30.05 per barrel.

At the same time, the price of July futures for international crude oil benchmark Brent crude rose 0.12 percent to $32.89 per barrel.

The Russian Finance Ministry earlier forecasted an average oil price of about $30 per barrel in 2020, expressing hopes that the figure will be slightly higher in 2021.

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