KUWAIT: The price of Kuwaiti crude oil shed $3.30, settling at $32.16 pb Monday against $35.46 pb on Friday, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) said yesterday. In global markets, prices took another nosedive as the already growing fear of the coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to amplify.

Brent crude went down by $3.36, settling at $30.50 pb, while the West Texas Intermediate lost $2.08 to land at $29.65 pb. The OPEC daily basket price went down $3.51 a barrel Monday to settle at $30.63 pb, compared with $34.14 pb last Friday, the organization said yesterday.

The annual average of the OPEC basket price hit $52.43 pb last year, it said in its daily bulletin. The OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Djeno (Congo), Oriente (Ecuador), Zafiro (Equatorial Guinea), Rabi Light (Gabon), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela). - KUNA