Nigeria's two main grades of crude, namely "Bonny Light and Qua Iboe", have fallen below the $10 mark, leaving Africa's top oil producer still struggling to sell its crude oil, media reported Thursday.

And as Indian refiners cut production and European plants consider closing, "certain types of (Nigerian) crude are generally selling at a discount to Brent or WTI as the market environment widens the gap further. compared to these references, according to the same sources.

Weak market prices caused the country's foreign exchange reserves to fall to $35.7 billion on March 25 from $36.3 billion a month earlier, according to Central Bank data.

It must be said that these particularly low price levels are justified by the desire of most producers to get rid of their stocks in a context where they need to produce more to more or less rebalance costs.

In the short term, much of the global supply will be reduced due to the spread of the coronavirus.

In Africa, the discount leaves revenue per barrel at a small fraction of benchmark prices in many budgets this year, which risks putting even more pressure on the public finances of producing countries.