US Crude Oil price falls below $20 a barrel

US crude oil prices fell below $20 a barrel shortly after trading reopened on Sunday, close to the lowest level in 18 years, as traders bet production will need to shut to cope with the collapse in demand from the coronavirus pandemic.

Financial Times reports that the US benchmark, known as West Texas Intermediate or WTI, hit a low of $19.92 a barrel, losing more than 6 per cent. Brent, the international benchmark, lost 6 per cent to hit a low of $23.03 a barrel, the lowest since 2002. Oil prices have fallen by more than half in the past month as widespread lockdowns in Europe and North America have slashed oil demand by a huge amount, with analysts forecasting as much as a quarter of normal global consumption could be lost.

FT