Last night, the second round of preliminary votes for a Democratic presidential candidate took place. Sen. Bernie Sanders won the biggest support, while Pete Buttigieg (who won the Iowa preliminaries) came in second. Early favorites Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren are both not doing as well as previously expected, but both remain in the run to decide who will face Donald Trump in November.
The news surrounding the Chinese coronavirus continues. The disease has been officially given a name - Covid-19. According to the Chinese authorities, the pace at which new patients become infected with the virus is slowing down, registering a drop in the number of new cases registered daily.
However, the WHO doubts these estimates because the government decided to stop counting the people carrying Covid-19 without showing symptoms. This is problematic because it could take almost a month before an infected patient starts showing symptoms, meaning that many people who ought to be under medical supervision might go freely spreading the virus to others.
Today we expect a report from OPEC regarding global oil demand. It comes after authorities in the United States cut their expectations by 300,000. Because of so many flights to and from China getting cancelled, as well as factories working at limited capacity (or not working at all) in light of the virus, the demand for oil has slumped.
Oil prices are making a modest recovery, despite the continued pressure. The Brent crude reached $55.19, while the WTI was trading at $50.73 earlier today.
