Oil prices in US drop below zero for first time in history as demand plunges amid coronavirus pandemic

It meant they were willing to pay a lot of money to anyone willing to take the oil off their hands, while it is also expensive for producers to shut down production, so they were willing to pay a premium for people to take the oil they extract.

Stocks were also slipping on Wall Street in afternoon trading, but the market’s most dramatic action was by far in oil.

International demand has dropped significantly in recent weeks, while Saudi Arabia ramped up production after a falling out with Russia.

Although Saudi Arabia and the rest of oil producing cartel Opec has now committed to slashing production again, the cuts have yet to make an impact on a market flooded by oil.

Many of the world’s oil storage sites are full and unable to take any more, so final buyers are nearly impossible to find.

“No one wants oil now. But it’s also fair to assume that with demand not able to recover and the US unable to agree on output curbs we will also see the June contract come in sharply to the mid-teens also,” said Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com