By Ovunc Kutlu
ANKARA (AA) - Crude oil prices were trading on Friday near their lowest levels in four years with risks of rising glut of supply and coronavirus-related low demand.
International benchmark Brent crude was trading at $33.93 per barrel at 0700 GMT for a 3.2% gain after closing Thursday at $32.86 a barrel with a 8.2% loss.
American benchmark West Texas Intermediate was at $32.14 a barrel at the same time for a 3.5% increase after ending the previous session at $31.05 per barrel with a 5.8% decline.
Both benchmarks were trading Friday around their lowest levels since February 2016, according to official data.
The novel coronavirus (Covid-19) that originated in China and quickly spread throughout the world continues to have a negative impact on global economic growth and overall oil demand, keeping downward pressure on oil prices.
On the supply side, Saudi Arabia, Russia and the United Arab Emirates preparing to ramp up their crude oil production levels creates the risk of a rise in the glut of oil supply in the market.
OPEC de facto leader Saudi Arabia and non-OPEC leader Russia said Wednesday they are preparing to increase their crude output levels by 2.6 million barrels per day (bpd) and 250,000 bpd in the short-term, respectively.
They added that those additional levels could increase to 3.3 million bpd, and 500,000 in the long-term, respectively.
The United Arab Emirates also said it is ready to increase its supply by 1 million bpd starting from next month.
The three countries could increase global oil supply by a total of over 3.6 million bpd starting from April.