Oil Prices Achieve Historic One Day Recovery, While Surgeon General Says Washington, California, Italy Have "Flattened The Curve"

Meanwhile, "game changing" virus treatment gives promising results: File Image/PixaBay

In what could be described as desperate optimism, oil traders on Thursday reacted to reports that Russia and Saudi Arabia may soon end their price war by posting the single-biggest one day crude gain on record.

Brent rose a massive $5.20, or 21.0 percent, to settle at $29.94 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate rose $5.01, or 24.7 percent, to settle at $25.32.

The turnaround came about when U.S. president Donald Trump tweeted he had spoken to Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman and expects the Saudis and Russians to cut daily oil output by as much as 10 million to 15 million barrels.

The two countries signalled their willingness to make a deal, with the Saudis saying they would call an emergency meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), and the former Soviet Union stating that it has no plans to increase output.

Still, the scramble to resolve differences is too late for some U.S. energy producers: Colorado-based Whiting Petroleum filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday, and John Driscoll, chief strategist at JTD Energy Services, remarked, "It's a fairly substantial company, but the smaller producers, if they don't have the hedging in place, it's going to be a tough route - Chapter 11 might be the only way to go."

Plus, the analytical community is doubtful the Saudis and Russians will be able to make much impact on a downward sliding crude market: Ed Morse, head of commodities research at Citigroup Inc., said, "Cuts are required immediately, and unless they happen the price is going to go down significantly and force them to happen."

Of course, the real solution to the crude market is demand recovery, which will only come about with breakthroughs in the development of coronavirus treatments and vaccines - and on that score, Dr. Stephen Smith, founder of The Smith Center for Infectious Diseases and Urban Health, told media on Thursday that his use of antimalarial medications and antibiotics to treat COVID-19 patients is a "game changer": "I think this is the beginning of the end of the pandemic; I'm very serious."

Smith went on to explain that he is treating 72 virus patients with hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin and that not one of them on the drugs for five days or more have had to be intubated.

Smith said, "The chance of that occurring by chance, according to my sons Leon and Hunter who did some stats for me, are .000-something: it's ridiculously low."

Smith's findings are supported by doctors in China who have released a study showing that "Cough, fever and pneumonia went away faster, and the disease seemed less likely to turn severe in people who received hydroxychloroquine than in a comparison group not given the drug."

Meanwhile, US Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams was one of many medical professionals crediting social distancing for Washington, California, coronavirus hot spot Italy as well as other countries for being able to "flatten the curve" of new infection rates.

He said, "We know that if you do this [aggressive mitigation] that it usually takes about three to four weeks from the time you start to lean into it before you level it off.....other places that leaned in early may be able to relax some of their recommendations earlier."