Oil prices surged more than six percent in Asian trade today following heavy losses a day earlier after top exporter Saudi Arabia began a price war with Russia.

West Texas Intermediate was trading up 6.1 percent at more than 33 US dollar a barrel while Brent crude advanced 6.6 percent to over 36 US dollar a barrel.

Prices had plunged by almost a third yesterday, the biggest drop since the 1991 Gulf War after Riyadh drove through massive price cuts in a bid to win market share.

That came after Russia rejected calls from the oil-exporting group Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which includes Saudi Arabia, for deeper output cuts to combat a coronavirus-fuelled slump in demand.