Reuters was first to report key developments from a dramatic two day Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) policy meeting which ended in collapse, sending global oil prices into a tailspin. Brent crude lost a third of its value as producers abandoned output restraint against a backdrop of faltering demand due to the fast-spreading coronavirus.
Reuters was 6 minutes ahead of the competition in reporting that OPEC ministers agreed to cut oil output by 1.5 million barrels per day to address demand falls, dependent on cooperation from its allies including Russia.
When it turned out that Russia was not ready to go along with the cuts, Reuters was also ahead with those alerts. Reuters was alone with news that Russia would only agree to extending existing output cuts, not new cuts. Then, Reuters was 35 minutes ahead in reporting that not only had OPEC failed to agree on new cuts, but it wasn’t even going to extend existing cuts.
