Commentary

DBRS Morningstar Updates Oil and Natural Gas Price Assumptions for Corporate Credit Ratings in Light of Higher Oil Price Volatility Tied to the Coronavirus Outbreak

Energy

Summary

This commentary outlines the significant volatility in Crude Oil markets in relation to the spread of the coronavirus. The spread of the illness through China has raised the specter of a sizable decline in the country’s oil consumption, which could upend the global oil supply/demand balance and negatively affect oil prices. Moreover, North American natural gas prices have also been unsteady. In light of the this volatility, DBRS Morningstar reviewed and updated the crude oil and natural gas price assumptions used for its corporate oil and gas credit ratings.