Crash! US crude futures turn negative for first time in history
Physical demand for crude has dried up in the wake of coronavirus containment measures, creating a global supply glut. United States oil futures turned negative for the first time in history on Monday with traders dumping May contracts as analysts warn that crude storage will fill to the brim by next month, and US shale firms weigh the real possibility of shutting down production. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for May delivery crashed more than 300 percent on Monday, deep into negative territory, touching -$40.32 before clawing back to settle in the negative thirties. The speed and swiftness of the May contract's death spiral took even seasoned oil veterans by surprise. "Wow. Prices needed to fall given the rapid decrease in demand and storage filling quickly. But I did not expect them to fall so fast," Samantha Gross, an energy and climate fellow at the Brookings Institution, reported. "We h