US oil price plunges to 20-year low

US oil prices crashed to a more than two-decade low as the coronavirus pandemic hits global demand for crude and raises concerns about storage facilities being overwhelmed.

In early Asian trading on Monday, West Texas Intermediate — the US oil benchmark — plunged as much as 20.8 per cent to $14.47 a barrel, marking the lowest level since 1999.

 

 

The continued fall in oil prices has come despite an Opec-backed deal to cut roughly 10 per cent of global crude supply.

The reductions are planned to run until April 2022 as part of efforts to stabilise prices pummelled by the worldwide spread of Covid-19.

Monday’s fall was partly driven by the imminent expiration of the WTI May futures contract on Tuesday. Contracts for WTI delivery in June by comparison were only down 5.2 per cent to $23.72, partially supported by an influx of retail investors in recent weeks trying to pick the bottom in oil prices.

Brent crude, the international benchmark, was down only 0.8 per cent at $27.86 a barrel.

Read more via The Financial Times

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