Oil Falls to 18-Year Low After Record Collapse in U.S. Demand - Bloomberg

Oil Falls to 18-Year Low After Record Collapse in U.S. Demand - Bloomberg:

Oil plunged to the lowest in two decades amid a record collapse in U.S. fuel demand and the biggest ever weekly build in domestic crude supplies.

Futures in New York settled below $20 a barrel for first time since 2002. American gasoline consumption dropped to the lowest level on record while crude supplies ballooned by 19.2 million barrels, according the Energy Information Administration. The government report underscored an earlier forecast by the Paris-based International Energy Administration, which warned that even OPEC+’s historic production cut can’t counter the epic demand decline caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

While Saudi Arabia and other Middle East producers have pledged to cut supply starting next month, they continue to flood the market in April. Meanwhile, U.S. oil production has declined only marginally.

“Whatever production that we are cutting back is not going to offset the demand destruction,” said Stephen Schork, president of the energy consultancy Schork Group Inc.

PRICES:
West Texas Intermediate fell 24 cents to $19.87 a barrel at the close of trading in New York Brent declined $1.91 to $27.69 a barrel Gasoline futures rose 0.1% to 72.04 cents per gallon