U.S. oil prices tumbled to their lowest level in more than 21 years on Monday, with crude storage facilities filling rapidly as the coronavirus pandemic continues to crush demand.
The May contract of U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures fell to $11.82 a barrel on Monday, down more than 35%. It had slipped as low as $11.04 earlier in the session, to register its lowest level since December 22, 1998, before paring losses.
US oil prices are on track for their worst day ever: Here’s why
(PUBLISHED MON, APR 20 20204:49 AM EDTUPDATED MOMENTS AGO)
~ The May contract of U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures fell to $11.66 a barrel on Monday, down more than 36%. It means the price grade is on track to register its worst day back to contract inception in 1983.
~ To be sure, the May contract expires on Tuesday, thus leaving it exposed to weaker trading volumes and more extreme market moves.
~ The June contract of WTI, which is more actively traded, stood at $22.29 a barrel, almost 11% lower.
~ “The curves are saying we have a big problem with the storage of oil right now,” Bjarne Schieldrop, chief commodities analyst at SEB, told CNBC via email.
Those people who bought at 18cent. Good luck to you. It’s a trap. Oil and gas sector has too much uncertainty and I don’t know why people keep chase high as the price is pushed up by big player. Not because the company making money. Due to pandemic covid 19. The world haven’t recovered from this virus yet. And many country the tank is full.
Armada got Bankruptcy protection card to use as US oil is too cheap and storage is full in US and in the sea if lockdown continue its cheaper to pay shipping charges.
Worst recession in history. Double edges sword (pandemic+oil crisis). Another crisis yet to come. Food crisis or food security! Take care guys. It's no time to buy stocks. It's time to buy rice. It's just a matter of time.
Stores never pay shoppers to take their goods away, but in extreme circumstances some businesses do, though generally in a very limited way. What’s happened in the oil market, however, was a massive and unprecedented negative swing, as the price on some futures contracts for West Texas crude fell to minus $37.63 a barrel. A collapse in petroleum demand from pandemic-driven lockdowns, a price war among the world’s largest producers that flooded the market, storage facilities nearing their capacities and the monthly rhythms of the futures market all played a role in the jaw-dropping development.
1. Why would a seller pay a buyer to take their oil?
For some producers, it may be cheaper in the long run than shutting down production or finding a place to store the supply bubbling out of the ground. Many worry that shutting their wells might damage them permanently, rendering them uneconomical in the future. There are also traders who buy oil futures contracts as a way of betting on price movements who have no intention of taking delivery of barrels. They can get caught by sharp price drops and face the choice of finding storage or selling at a loss. And the escalating glut of oil has made storage space scarce, and increasingly expensive.
2. Where did the glut come from?
Either the pandemic or the price war by itself would have rocked the energy markets. Together they have turned them upside down. As the virus began to spread around the globe, it began eating away at oil demand in stages. But just as countries like Italy showed what kind of damage a national lockdown could do economically, Saudia Arabia and Russia, the world’s biggest oil producers, butted heads. A pact that had restrained production collapsed and both countries opened their taps to the fullest, releasing record volumes of crude into the market.
3. Wasn’t there a deal on that?
Yes, one worked out by OPEC, Russia, the U.S. and the Group of 20 countries. But its call for an overall production cut of roughly 10% proved to be too little, too late. Prices initially turned negative just in obscure corners of the U.S. market such as Wyoming, where storage options are few. Then major hubs began to register negative prices for small streams of selected crudes. And on April 20, prices fell sharply below zero on CME, the world’s largest energy market, as well as NYMEX.
4. What did futures contracts have to do with that?
The lowest prices came in trades in futures -- contracts in which a buyer locks in a purchase at a stated price at a stated time. Futures are a tool for users of oil to hedge against price swings, but also a means of speculation. The contracts run for a set period, and traders who don’t want to unwind their position or take delivery generally roll over their contracts shortly before expiration. Contracts for May delivery were due to expire on April 21, putting maximum pressure the day before on traders whose contracts were coming due. For them, selling at a steeply negative price was better than filling bathtubs with oil, though the market rout was such that the physical domestic crude market did see trades on an outright basis for grades like WTI in Midland, Mars Blend, Light and Heavy Louisiana Sweet crudes at negative levels.
6. What happened to storage?
Since the glut began to build and prices began to fall, storage facilities have been moving toward capacity. Crude stockpiles at Cushing in Oklahoma-- America’s key storage hub and delivery point of the West Texas Intermediate contract -- have jumped 48% to almost 55 million barrels since the end of February. The hub had working storage capacity of 76 million as of Sept. 30, according to the Energy Information Administration. The industry has been accumulating supply aboard ships, while contemplating other creative options such as storing oil aboard rail tankers. The Trump Administration, which is concerned about the possible ripple effect from oil bankruptcies, is eyeing a proposal, which is still in its infancy, to pay oil drillers to keep their oil in the ground temporarily. The idea would be to keep it off the market until prices recovered, giving the Treasury a healthy profit while protecting producers from immediate losses.
The drop is impacting oil TRADERS as contract closed on 20Apr for May supply price. Oil producer have little impact as June future contract supply price range for $20+ on WTI. Cooool. You can check on Shell/BP/Exxon share price.
@TAK1 You and your loud mouth since AA and when price goes up you disappear. Nobody know it's true value and you are amazing to value it at 10c.. ^_^ It has to test a few levels before going down to 10c...How much money have you been losing with that mouth of yours??
@TAK1 The market is moving down now as we are expecting all that to happen.. If it goes on longer yes the price will move lower but it wont go lower that 16c unless the company is expected to go bankrupt..How does it feel to be wrong about AA?? ^_^ Just sell all you want, I have already bought some and will continue holding till it fly up ^_^ I will only sell once it reach my stop loss.. Lose small earn big.. Have fun losing more money and talking to people about stocks you don't even own..
Like i said it's your choice if you want to sell IDSS you have to buy back within the same day.. It a risk you have to take.. I am not going to chance my strategy...If you sell and the price goes up due to good news.. Good luck buying back at a higher price.. For those who have already bought or planning to buy..Let's ride through this till we reach our TP..
This book is the result of the author's many years of experience and observation throughout his 26 years in the stockbroking industry. It was written for general public to learn to invest based on facts and not on fantasies or hearsay....
Investsucess Trader
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Posted by Investsucess Trader > 2020-04-20 20:31 | Report Abuse
U.S. oil prices tumbled to their lowest level in more than 21 years on Monday, with crude storage facilities filling rapidly as the coronavirus pandemic continues to crush demand.
The May contract of U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures fell to $11.82 a barrel on Monday, down more than 35%. It had slipped as low as $11.04 earlier in the session, to register its lowest level since December 22, 1998, before paring losses.