The UN-backed Libyan government on Thursday decided to reduce the daily curfew time from 24 to 12 hours next week.
The new curfew will start on April 28, from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. local time (1600 to 0400 GMT), during which the movement of vehicles will be allowed instead of the previous tight restriction.
All government administrative agencies will keep only 10 % of their staff, and banks will be reopened for the public.
Libya’s National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) announced the country’s second coronavirus death, while no new cases were recorded, keeping the total at 60 including 15 recoveries.
The NCDC revealed that it had received a total of 156 suspected samples but all of them proved negative.
The Second Cabinet of Abdullah Al-Thani announced the official working hours during the holy month of Ramadan, which will be from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. taking into account the circulars issued by the Government concerning the Coronavirus pandemic.
The General Electricity Company announced the theft of an power line from 30 crossroads in Jafara District, Libya.
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It will bereminded that the General Electricity Company of Libya (GECOL) reported that the first, third and fourth generating units of Al-Khums Gas Station, have stopped as a result of the lack of light fuel, which is used in its operation in place of gas.
The GECOL appealed to the relevant authorities to provide both light and heavy fuel to counteract the effect of the locking of a main gas valve, which is designed to feed a number of generating units.
The company confirmed that the light fuel, used for operating Al-Khums Plant is set to be initiated within two days and heavy fuel, within approximately ten days at Al-Khums Steam Station.
It added that this may lead to some generating units shutting down, potentially causing a significant decrease in output.
Libya’s National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) announced yesterday one new positive case of Coronavirus (Covid-19).
The NCDC revealed that it had received a total of 97 suspected samples but 96 proved negative.
This brings Libya’s total cases to 60 with 15 recoveries and just the one death.
Oil rose on Thursday, spurred by rising tensions in the Middle East, output cuts by producing nations to tackle oversupply and the promise of more government stimulus to ease the economic pain of the new coronavirus pandemic.
Brent crude LCOc1 was up $1.78, or 8.7%, at $22.15 a barrel by 09ز40 GMT. U.S. crude CLc1 rose $1.87, or 13.6%, at $15.65 a barrel.
Oil prices have suffered one of their most tumultuous weeks ever. The expiring front-month U.S. contract CLc1 on Monday fell into negative territory for the first time as traders paid buyers to take crude off their hands given a lack of storage space for the current supply glut.
So far this year, Brent has lost roughly two thirds of its value.
Gold prices jumped as much as 1.9% on Wednesday on expectations for more fiscal and monetary stimulus measures amid massive economic damage due to stay-at-home and business shutdown orders around the world to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Spot gold was up 1.6% at $1,711.84 per ounce at 17:34 GMT, which could be its biggest daily gain in nearly two weeks. U.S. gold futures settled 3% higher at 1,738.30.
Gold tends to benefit from widespread stimulus measures from central banks, as it is often seen as a hedge against inflation and currency debasement.
The Libyan Embassy in London claimed that the number of Coronavirus infections among the Libyan citizens living in Britain rose to 58, noting that the death toll jumped to 4.
The Embassy said that infections include 23 children,14 women, and 21 men
A jump in the price of oil and the promise of more government stimulus to ease the economic pain inflicted by the coronavirus pandemic helped global equity markets surge on Wednesday, prompting investors to edge out of perceived safe-haven assets like U.S. Treasuries.
U.S. crude and Brent both rose more than 7% after touching their lowest levels since 1999 on the prospects for further production cuts to reduce the glut in the oil market.
MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe> gained 1.76% following a broad rally in Europe and slight losses in Asia.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 450.7 points, or 1.96%, to 23,469.58, the S&P 500 gained 62.14 points, or 2.27%, to 2,798.7 and the Nasdaq Composite added 232.15 points, or 2.81%, to 8,495.38.
A historic two-day plunge in the oil market, which sent futures contracts negative for the first time in history, had erased more than 1,000 points from the Dow before Wednesday’s open.
The dollar edged higher on Wednesday, adding to the previous session’s gains, as safe-haven currencies remained largely well supported even as markets began to stabilize and oil prices recovered from another slump.
The U.S. Dollar Currency Index, which measures the greenback’s strength against six other major currencies, was 0.19% higher at 100.39. The index hit a two-week high of 100.50 earlier in the session.
On Wednesday, most currencies traded in relatively narrow ranges against a backdrop of steadying stock markets.