Oil futures slide as pandemic darkens demand outlook - Reuters

Oil futures slide as pandemic darkens demand outlook - Reuters:

Crude oil benchmarks fell sharply on Monday, with Brent hitting its lowest since November 2002, as fears grew over the coronavirus pandemic eroding demand and the Saudi Arabia-Russia price war threatened to overload the market.

Brent futures LCOc1 were down 5.8%, or $1.45, to $23.48 a barrel as of 0623 GMT, after earlier dropping to $23.03, the lowest since November 2002.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 fell as far as $19.92, near an 18-year low hit earlier this month, and was last trading down 3.8%, or $0.82, at $20.69 a barrel.

“Central banks have been easing (monetary policy) and governments have been offering stimulus packages, but they are only supportive measures, not radical treatments,” said Satoru Yoshida, a commodity analyst with Rakuten Securities.