Energy crisis

Turkey's energy import bill increased by 131 percent to $3.63 billion in June this year compared to the same month last year, according to data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) on July 30.

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The overall energy import bill soared last month due to an increase in the country's industrial production.

The World Bank has raised its growth projection for the Turkish economy by 0.5 percentage points to 5 percent for 2021.

Food prices in Bulgaria are the highest for the last 5 years. Prices of most products have risen to a record high during the pandemic, data from the State Commission on Commodity Exchanges and Markets show.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has lowered its oil demand forecasts by the end of the current year and 2021 as a result of lower air fuel consumption due to the lower number of air passengers as a result of the second wave of coronavirus pandemic.

Asian shares skidded on April 21 after U.S. oil futures plunged below zero with storage for crude nearly full as demand collapses due to the pandemic.

Shares fell in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai and New York stock futures retreated after the S&P 500 sank 1.8% overnight, giving up some big gains from last week.

Brent oil price dived below $30 per barrel on April 14 with rising oversupply in the global market due to low oil consumption around the world.

Price of the international benchmark hit $29.85 a barrel at 1548GMT for a daily loss of 5.95% after closing Monday at $31.74 per barrel.

Oil price stability is needed for predictability in the global oil market, and volatility in oil prices must end immediately, Turkey's energy and natural resources minister said on April 11. 

OPEC and its allies agreed early on April 10 to lower their collective crude oil production by 10 million barrels per day (bpd) until the end of the second quarter of 2020.

Saudi Arabia-led OPEC and Russia-led non-OPEC oil-producing nations started their 9th (Extraordinary) OPEC and non-OPEC ministerial meeting via webinar on April 9 at 1445GMT.

The low oil price environment in the global market is dragging the Middle Eastern oil-producing countries to collapse, whose economies are strongly dependent on crude oil production and exports.

Oil prices extended losses in Asian trade on March 30 and languished at 17-year lows, with the coronavirus crisis escalating around the world and no end in sight to a vicious price war.    

U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate fell 5.3 percent to trade at $20 a barrel, while international benchmark Brent crude was off 6.5 percent at $23.