Global crude oil markets have lost about a fifth of their value in 2020 as strict coronavirus lockdowns paralysed much of the global economy, but prices have rebounded strongly from their lows as governments rolled out stimulus.
According to Reuters, on Thursday, the last trading day of 2020, Brent was trading down 25 cents, or 0.5%, at $51.38 a barrel, as of 0246 GMT and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) lost 0.2%, or 11 cents, to $48.29 a barrel.
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Brent and WTI have more than doubled from decade-lows seen in April, putting past a year which marked the first negative prices for WTI that shocked investors globally.
A January 4 meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, including Russia, a group known as OPEC+, is set to boost output by 500,000 barrels per day in January.
