“Oil prices moving up nicely as demand begins again!” U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted excitedly. 

Coronavirus-induced lockdowns had all but crippled the global oil industry in April, with marketers paying buyers to take the product off them because there was nowhere to store the excess crude that was being pumped.

The price of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI), which is the benchmark for US oil, fell to as low as -$37.63 a barrel on April 20. 

Brent crude or international oil,which is the benchmark for Nigeria’s Bonny Light, plunged to a low of around $26/barrel at the time and traded for even less as the days wore on. 

However, things are beginning to look up again for oil producing nations. 

WTI crude CLc1 futures are now up 11.2%, or $2.29, at $22.68 per barrel. 

Brent crude LCOc1 futures are up 7.2%, or $1.97, at $29.17.

Italy, Spain, Nigeria and India, together with Ohio and other U.S. states, began allowing some people to go back to work and opened up construction sites, parks and libraries, Reuters writes. 

Due to these decisions, demand is returning and oil investors are splashing the cash again. 

Vehicle traffic in most of the United States, including those yet to lift shelter-in-place orders, has also rebounded, RBC Capital Markets research said in a note.

Swiss bank UBS said the easing of restrictions would help lead to a balance in supply and demand for the oil market in the third quarter and even projected an undersupply by the fourth, forecasting an end-2020 recovery of Brent to $43 per barrel and $55/bbl by mid-2021.

“The outlook for this and next year is turning brighter: demand should be supported by a recovering global economy,” UBS commodities analyst Giovanni Staunovo said.

Still, recovery in the oil market is likely to be slow because the global aviation sector remains closed and international travel restrictions haven’t been lifted.

Australian national carrier Qantas Airways’ (QAN.AX) Chief Executive Alan Joyce said on Tuesday that “international travel demand could take years to return to what it was.”