Oil Prices Rally As Trump Says Talks Underway With Saudi Crown Prince

Oil prices traded higher on Thursday from lows of $23 to $30 a barrel following a tweet from President Donald Trump that said he had spoken to "his friend," Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, who Trump said in turn spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin about slashing oil production .

Just spoke to my friend MBS (Crown Prince) of Saudi Arabia, who spoke with President Putin of Russia, & I expect & hope that they will be cutting back approximately 10 Million Barrels, and maybe substantially more which, if it happens, will be GREAT for the oil & gas industry!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 2, 2020

The Saudis are calling for a meeting aimed at reaching a fair oil deal and confirm the meeting was requested by Trump, Reuters reported, citing Saudi state news.

The Russian state-controlled news outlet Sputnik quoted a Kremlin spokesman as saying that Trump's statement about a conversation between Putin and bin Salman is false. 

"No. There was no such conversation," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. 

Oil prices have been exacerbated due to a global surplus; the volatility is expected to continue as the coronavirus outbreak and slowdown in business add downward pressure to oil prices.

Russia, Saudi Arabia's Oil Price War

At the March 6 Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries meeting, Russia refused to sign up to additional cuts proposed by OPEC oil producers.

Saudi Arabia decided to increase its oil production and launched an oil price war that triggered a major fall in the price of oil.

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