(Bloomberg) -- Oil kept falling toward the lowest level since 2003 as prospects for a deal between OPEC and Texas to limit production appeared to fade, while a U.S. coronavirus rescue package ran into political delays.Futures in London fell more than 8% in early Asian trade after plunging 20% last week. Texas Railroad Commissioner Ryan Sitton landed a rare invitation to attend OPEC’s June meeting on Friday, but just hours later hopes for an agreement began to unravel as his call to curb output was criticized by fellow regulators and drillers.Meanwhile, Democrats in the U.S. Senate blocked a Republican economic recovery package of nearly $2 trillion, describing it as too focused on corporations at the expense of workers. A major package remains likely but could take additional time for the two parties to work out their differences.The chance that either Saudi Arabia or Russia will back down from their price war appears remote, with President Vladimir Putin unlikely to submit to what he sees as the kingdom’s oil blackmail, according to Kremlin watchers. The brinkmanship is taking place against a rapidly darkening demand outlook with more nations going into lockdown to tackle the virus. Some traders see crude demand collapsing by as much as 10 to 20 million barrels a day.Brent for May settlement lost 4.8% to $25.68 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe Exchange as of 8:47 a.m. in Singapore after dropping to as low as $24.68 earlier. In a sign of the deteriorating demand outlook, the grade’s six-month timespread was $8.51 a barrel in contango, the widest since 2009.West Texas Intermediate for May delivery declined 0.5% to $22.31 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after falling to as low as $20.80 earlier. The contract plummeted 29% last week, the most since 1991.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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