Brent oil $45 a barrel as markets await US relief bill

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - Price of Brent crude oil was steady just above $45 per barrel on Tuesday as markets await the US relief bill to stimulate the American economy against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

The international benchmark was at $45.01 a barrel at 0640 GMT on Tuesday to remain steady after it closed the previous day at $44.99 per barrel.

American benchmark West Texas Intermediate was at $42.05 per barrel at the same time for a 0.26% increase after it ended the previous session at $41.94 a barrel.

The US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Monday a deal could be reached this week on the much-awaited stimulus package, which US President Donald Trump and Republicans have been seeking a roughly $1 trillion, but the Democrat's proposal exceeds $3 trillion.

Talks between Trump administration and Democrat-controlled House of Representatives broke down on Friday after failing to agree on differences in spending proposals.

On the demand side, as COVID-19 continues to spread around the world, global economic outlook and overall oil demand continue to remain weak.

The number of COVID-19 cases worldwide is now over 20 million, according to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University.

As the US leads the number of cases with more than 5 million as of Tuesday morning, Brazil has over 3 million, and India follows with more than 2.2 million cases.