The sun is seen behind a crude oil pump jack in the Permian Basin in Loving County, Texas, US, November 22, 2019. — Reuters pic
In Tuesday trading, New York’s light sweet crude West Texas Intermediate for May delivery clawed back to minus US$3.91 per barrel. “Ever thought that it could be imaginable to see the price of US oil valued at less than a pizza? Or even a slice of pizza? How about for it to actually cost to sell US crude?” said Jameel Ahmad, head of currency strategy and market research at FXTM.
Elsewhere today, European benchmark Brent North Sea oil for June delivery tumbled to an 18-year low at US$18.10 per barrel, before shooting back up to US$21.08 in volatile deals. While the two massive oil producing nations have drawn a line under the dispute and agreed with other countries to slash output by almost 10 million barrels a day, that is not enough to offset the lack of demand.Equity markets were meanwhile deep in the red today, having enjoyed a healthy couple of weeks thanks to massive stimulus measures and signs of an easing in the rate of new infections globally.