Oil price goes negative as demand collapses

Benchmark US crude for May delivery plummeted to a record low below 1.50 dollars per barrel.

Oil prices plunged below zero on Monday as demand for energy collapses amid the coronavirus pandemic, while traders do not want to get stuck owning crude with nowhere to store it.

Stocks were also slipping on Wall Street in afternoon trading, with the S&P 500 down 0.9%, but the market’s most dramatic action was by far in oil, where benchmark US crude for May delivery plummeted to negative 3.70 dollars per barrel.