WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Oil prices edged up slightly on Friday after the World Health Organization declared an international health emergency with the novel coronavirus outbreak in China, but did not recommend travel restrictions, saying there was no reason for measures that affect international travel and trade.
Benchmark Brent crude inched up 0.1 percent to $57.39 a barrel, after tumbling 2.5 percent in the previous session on worries over the rapid spread of the virus and its economic impact. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were up 0.3 percent at $52.29.
The death toll in China from the new coronavirus rose to 213 today, as more countries announced plans to evacuate their citizens from Wuhan, ground zero of the deadly virus.
The United States issued a Level 4 warning, its highest, urging Americans to avoid travel to China as a wave of panic and infections increase.
Investors were also reacting to reports suggesting that Saudi Arabia has opened a discussion about moving an upcoming output policy meeting to early February from March to address the sharp drop in crude oil prices recently.
'No final decision over the new date of the meeting has been made, and not all OPEC members are on board yet, with Iran a possible contender to oppose the move, the OPEC+ sources said,' Reuters reported.
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