Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, as Covid-19 recession drives US crude oil into negative territory
- 8.15am: FTSE 100 falls 80 points in early trading
- UK jobless rate rose to 4% before coronavirus struck
- Jobless total up by 58,000 compared with previous quarter
- Investors shocked to see US oil fall to -$40 last night
Having ‘recovered’ overnight, the price of a US barrel of oil for delivery in May has turned negative again-- to minus $4.4 per barrel.
That shows that traders are desperate to avoid having to actually take delivery of a barrel of sticky black crude next month.
“The destruction in oil demand due to COVID-19 has been unprecedented – even more so than the deep recession in 2009. The surge in oil production over the last month has only exacerbated the issue and created one of the greatest gluts in the oil market history.
“Last week’s agreed cut from OPEC+ wasn’t enough to bring the slide in oil prices under control. The pressure on oil storage capacity has forced West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil prices to be slashed in an attempt to relieve the level of producers’ inventories.
Related: Over a barrel: how oil prices dropped below zero
European stock markets have opened in the red, hit by the slump in the US oil price below zero last night.
Britain’s FTSE 100 index has shed 80 points, or nearly 1.4%. Oil giants are leading the rout, with BP and Royal Dutch Shell both down over 4%.
Continue reading...from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3alOCqx
