World crude prices have staged a modest recovery from last month’s dizzying collapse, prompting analysts to wonder whether the worst of the 2020 oil crisis is over. The commodity tanked for the first time into negative territory in April, plagued by demand-destroying coronavirus, chronic oversupply and a Saudi-Russian price war. West Texas Intermediate crude hit a historic low of minus $40.32 per barrel on April 20 as sellers were forced to pay to offload the May contract amid scarce storage capacity. Brent North Sea oil then dived as low as $15.98 on April 22 but did not turn negative. Fast forward one month, however, and both oil prices are currently trading at around $35 per barrel. Phoenix from ashes? “Like a phoenix from the ashes… oil prices have recovered significantly from their lows in April,” said Commerzbank analyst Eugen Weinberg. Behind the recovery is an easing global supply glut, and nations beginning to relax lockdown restrictions that have crippled oil-intensive sectors like transport and manufacturing. Yet some analysts warn that the market remains vulnerable to a much-feared second wave of coronavirus infections — and lockdowns. The deadly pandemic has so far killed 328,000 people worldwide and infected more than five million, according to an AFP tally.