NEW YORK, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Oil prices settled mixed in volatile trading on Tuesday as traders continued to weigh potential coronavirus impact.

The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for May delivery increased 0.39 U.S. dollar to settle at 20.48 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for May delivery fell 0.02 dollar to close at 22.74 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.

On Monday, the WTI marked its lowest finish since February 2002. Prices based on front-month WTI crude fell by 54.2 percent this month, the largest one-month decline since October 2008, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

Oil demand could decline by as much as 20 million barrels per day, or 20 percent, this year, given that 3 billion people around the world are locked down, the International Energy Agency warned last week.

Meanwhile, market participants were concerned over rifts between major oil producers.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday talked over phone and agreed on the importance of stability in global energy markets, according to a White House statement on Monday.

Saudi Arabia and Russia failed to reach a new deal on curbing oil production, which sent shock waves through global energy markets, as oil prices took a nosedive at a time when global demand for oil was already hit by the raging coronavirus pandemic. Low oil prices will also hurt the U.S. shale industry. Enditem

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