Commodity Update March 19, 2021: Oil Plunge overnight on Mounting Concerns of Covid-19

Commodity update as of 9:25 local time in Thailand on March 19, 2021

 

Asia Wealth Securities (AWS) stated that yesterday, WTI crude for April delivery closed at USD60 a barrel, down USD4.60 (-7.1%), lowered on concerns about the economic impact and oil demand due to the novel coronavirus outbreak in Europe. Including the suspension of many European countries AstraZeneca vaccine, especially in the UK which plans to delay the COVID-19 vaccination next month due to transport issues. While the British government wants to test the stability of another 1.7mn doses of the vaccine, which resulted in a vaccination plan against COVID-19 being delayed. Also, France is announcing a one-month lockdown in Paris and other regions to block the spread of COVID-19. In addition to Italy, which continued to use strict lockdown measures.

These factors put pressure on crude oil prices, and the valuation of energy stocks began to limit so we recommend only speculation in the stocks that could benefit from the drop in crude oil prices which are TASCO, TOA, EPG, GULF, BGRIM, GPSC, OSP, BJC, BGC and CPALL.