Updated 6:33 PM
London (CNN Business)Want to know just how serious a blow the coronavirus pandemic has dealt to markets and the economy? Look at the price of oil.
On Monday, US oil to be delivered in May settled at -$37.60 per barrel, the first negative close in history. That means producers, which are running out of storage space as demand for energy collapses, are willing to pay buyers to take crude off their hands. That's never happened before for West Texas Intermediate futures, the US benchmark.
The price of a barrel of WTI crude to be delivered in May has since turned positive. It settled Tuesday at $10.01 per barrel, a drop of 84% from its recent high in January.
The contract closed Tuesday, which means trading was light and most investors were looking ahead to June. But this isn't just a case of odd market mechanics. The price of a barrel of WTI crude to be delivered the following month also plunged. It settled down 43% at $11.57 per barrel. At one point Tuesday, June oil fell as low as $6.50. Pandemic=65,38
Brent crude futures, the global benchmark, dived below $19 per barrel on Tuesday to their lowest level since 2002, a nearly 26% decline.--virus=26
Brent crude futures, the global benchmark, dived below $19 per barrel on Tuesday to their lowest level since 2002, a nearly 26% decline.--virus=26
Wuhan coronavirus=222
Coronavirus=56
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