A police officer surveys Qingdao port as the Kuwaiti oil tanker Kazimah III unloads crude oi in ... [+] Qingdao City, China on March 20, 2020. Demand for oil has fallen sharply this year as a consequence of the global economic slowdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Conflict and crisisMany oil exporters at least have the comfort of large savings they can fall back on to help deal with the crisis. “This is a dramatic downturn that will aggravate existing economic and humanitarian challenges and raise already-high poverty levels,” the IMF warned. Oil importers – a group which includes the likes of Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia – can benefit from lower fuel costs.

Source: The North Africa Journal July 13, 2020 10:52 UTC