At least three brokerages are restricting the ability of clients to enter into new trades in the most active oil benchmarks in a bid to curb losses after an unprecedented meltdown in crude this week dragged prices into negative territory for the first time in history.
For investors getting crushed by oil’s relentless drop, contortions in the exchange-traded fund they swarmed into are adding mind-numbing complexity to an already anxious situation.
Unprecedented, unbelievable, ‘off-the-scale’ can’t really sum up what happened to oil prices in North America on Monday April 20. Both WTI (West Texas intermediate) and WCS (Western Canadian Select) plunged to below $0 per barrel and recorded an oil price of minus $38 per barrel for the first time in history. Although there has been talk about negative oil prices for months, nobody really predicted anything on this scale.
As the oil market collapse has taken WTI into the uncharted and “impossible” territory of negative prices, there has been considerable attention not only on where prices might be going, but also what is happening to the forward curve, and what it means. Even in more normal markets, the structure of the forward curve “backwardation” and “contango” is a source of confusion – mystery even.
As oil crashes due to the impact of the coronavirus, it’s easy to overlook an even more dismal reality for producers: the real prices they’re getting for their barrels are worse still.
Oil kept falling after its biggest weekly drop since July as signs that reaching a comprehensive U.S.-China trade deal will be tough gave no respite from a worsening demand outlook.
Oil posted its biggest ever intraday jump to more than $71 a barrel after a strike on a Saudi Arabian oil facility removed about 5% of global supplies, an attack the U.S. has blamed on Iran.
Oil closed down in New York for the first time in three days amid rising concerns about the likelihood of a global economic contraction and mounting supplies.
Oil extended its retreat as investor appetite for risk assets shrank and uncertainty persisted over how much OPEC output will need to be cut to counter booming U.S. shale supplies.
Oil headed for its first annual decline since 2015, slumping more than 20 percent in a turbulent year that saw fears of supply scarcity turn to expectations of a surplus.
Oil was jolted higher by efforts across the globe to support prices as Saudi Arabia and Russia extended their pact to manage the market and Canada’s largest producing province ordered unprecedented output curbs. Prices retreated slightly after Qatar said it was leaving OPEC.
Oil climbed as the Trump administration signaled optimism a trade deal may be reached with China and an industry report indicated robust U.S. fuel demand.
Oil rose from its lowest settlement in more than a year in New York, though signs of record output from Saudi Arabia amid pressure from President Donald Trump continued to weigh on the market.
Oil’s record losing streak has plunged prices into a bear market and is reverberating around the globe, with the mayhem rattling everyone from bond traders to political leaders and fund managers.
Oil was showing little sign of recovering from its unprecedented decline as investors flee a market hammered by swelling supplies and a darkening demand outlook.