2020.03.1910:15:00UTC+00Oil Prices Rebound As Central Banks Unleash Stimulus

Oil prices rose on Thursday after days of relentless selling as governments and central banks around the world announced massive stimulus to soften the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

Meanwhile, Russia said it would like to see oil prices improve. Bloomberg quoted Russian President Putin's Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov as saying that Russia wants to see higher prices, but the country has not yet reached out to OPEC to discuss measures.

Benchmark Brent crude surged 6.1 percent to $26.40 a barrel, after having fallen around 14 percent on Wednesday.

U.S. crude futures were up 12 percent at $23.38 a barrel, after having fallen as much as 24 percent to their lowest settlement price since February 2002 in the previous session.

The European Central Bank (ECB) announced the launch of a ?750 billion ($820 billion) emergency bond purchase scheme, but said the so-called Pandemic Emergency Purchase Program is temporary and will be halted when the coronavirus crisis is judged to be over.

Media reports suggest that Japan is considering an economic package worth more than 30 trillion yen (239.83 billion pounds) to combat the widening fallout from the virus outbreak.

The Australian Central Bank lowered its interest rate to 0.25 percent - it's lowest ever as the coronavirus pandemic threatens to drag the country into its first recession since the early 1990s.

The U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passed legislation on Wednesday providing billions of dollars to limit the damage from the coronavirus pandemic through free testing, paid sick leave and expanded safety-net spending.

Switzerland's central bank retained its interest rates and raised its negative interest exemption threshold, as coronavirus is posing exceptionally large challenges to the economy.