The Reliance Industries (RIL) on April 21 lost Rs 30,000 crores in trading, and the reason for that is the crude oil price crash. For the first time, US crude oil prices went sub-zero in value per barrel, though later recovered to the positive territory of $0.58 per barrel.
This brings more bad news for Mukesh Ambani whose wealth is already in crisis because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
According to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index, Ambani’s net worth had crashed by 41% this year to a low of $34.4 billion on March 19th and has slowly recovered to reach $45.o billion in April 2020. Ambani was worth $58.6 billion when the year had begun.
With the COVID-19 lockdown restricting movement across the world, demand for oil has all but dried up. The US light crude West Texas Intermediate (WTI) at New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) was trading at – $22.55 per barrel as of today.
RIL’s fortunes have also been affected because of an oil war between Saudi Arabia and Russia, whereas Ambani was supposed to close the $15 billion Saudi Aramco deal by March 31 this year. But with a lockdown in place, investors are wary, though some media reports suggest that the deal might be closed soon.
