Oil Prices Crashed to $0 Per Barrel: Worst Economic Impact of COVID-19

It is yet another first in history, the global Oil prices have crashed to $0 a barrel. This is considered to be the most dangerous impact of COVID-19 Pandemic.

So, as a reaction on social media, there was outrage on Twitter, where everyone from the stand-up comic to the columnist decided that they were an expert on oil prices.

True, that their explanation of the same was done through jokes and memes, but here is how Twitter reacted to what could be a global pandemonium.

With space to store oil scarce, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for May delivery crashed 300 per cent on Monday and ended trading at -$37.63 a barrel.

The US light crude West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for May at New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) was trading at -35.34 USD per barrel, down by -53.61 USD per barrel from the last closing of $18.27 per barrel. However, May delivery contract of WTI at NYMEX plunged to -40.32 USD per barrel during the trade on Monday.

At Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), crude oil contract expiring on April 20 settled at Rs 965 per barrel, down by Rs 471 or 32.80 per cent from the previous session. The most active May contract also settled at Rs 1,755 per barrel, down by Rs 159 or 12.86 per cent from the last session.

The price of oil has now reached a point that it is increasingly becoming difficult for higher cost producers to remain in operation and rather look at declaring bankruptcy. A lot of US shale producers are in deep trouble and analysts expect that low oil price for few more months will result in a spate of bankruptcies in US.