Coronavirus Pushed Oil Prices In Negative Territory For First Time

For the first time in U.S. history, oil prices fell into negative territory as demand continues to dry up because of the stranglehold the coronavirus pandemic has on the global economy. Industry experts says the globe now has a lot of oil and very few remaining places to store it, thus meaning producers are paying buyers off their hands.

West Texas traded as low as -$40.32 a barrel in Monday’s action. The price eventually settled at -$37.63, well off from the $18.27 reported in Friday’s trade.

“This is the oil apocalypse," said Tom Kloza head of the Oil Price Information Service. "We always thought that oil could get down to sort of the Yankee retired numbers like 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. But based on today's actions the Yankees might need to have negative numbers on their backs."

Kloza added what we’re seeing is a reflection of commodity markets.

“This is not about fundamentals, this is about a lot of folks on the investment and funds side who were long oil and tried to get to the exit doors and they were slammed shut.”

Here is a look at the area diesel prices: