U.S. crude hits 17-year low as lockdowns, restrictions spread - Reuters

U.S. crude hits 17-year low as lockdowns, restrictions spread - Reuters:

Oil prices fell for a third session on Wednesday with U.S. crude futures tumbling to a 17-year low as travel and social lockdowns sparked by the coronavirus epidemic knocked the outlook for demand.

U.S. crude Clc1 was down $1.15 cents, or 4.27%, at $25.80 per barrel by 0938 GMT, having earlier fallen to $25.68, its lowest since May 2003.

Brent crude LCOc1 was trading down 78 cents, or 2.71%, at $27.95 a barrel, after dropping to $27.86, its lowest since early 2016.

“The oil demand collapse from the spreading coronavirus looks increasingly sharp,” Goldman Sachs said in a note forecasting a fall in the price of Brent to as low as $20 in the second quarter, a level not seen since early 2002.