Brent oil drops 25%, near two-decade lows on scant demand, storage - Reuters

Brent oil drops 25%, near two-decade lows on scant demand, storage - Reuters:

Brent crude futures plunged 25% on Tuesday to the lowest in nearly two decades, a day after panicked traders sent U.S. oil below minus $40 per barrel on fears of a historic glut due to the destruction of fuel demand by the coronavirus pandemic.

Monday’s historic crash in U.S. crude futures saw the front-month May contract, which expires Tuesday, settling at negative $37.63 a barrel as traders facing a dearth of storage space and customers scrambled to avoid taking delivery of barrels.

While that trade was anomalous, the steep decline in Brent and U.S. futures expiring in June showed the market remained worried that the overwhelming supply and weak demand will persist for weeks.

Brent LCOc1 futures for June delivery fell $6.52, or 25.5%, to $19.05 a barrel by 12:46 p.m. EDT (1646 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc2 for June fell $9.09, or 44.5%, to $9.09.