China's shutdown puts OPEC and allies nations in awkward position

They want to prop up price despite coronavirus-related drop in Asian demand

Vandana Hari

February 20, 2020 03:00 JST

20200219 Zhoushan crude oil import terminal.jpg

Zhoushan crude oil import terminal, pictured in August 2018: no one anticipated a sudden demand shock caused by a new pathogen spreading like wildfire. © TPG/Getty Images

The coronavirus epidemic battering economic activity and oil demand in China has sent oil prices into a tailspin. It has also placed producers of the OPEC/non-OPEC alliance in a quandary that puts their core ideology -- maintaining the price of crude oil so that it works for both producers and consumers -- to the test.