Economics
Oil Set for Worst Week Since 2008 With Virus Hitting Demand
- Market structure in super-contango, signaling large glut
- West Texas Intermediate crude set for a 24% weekly tumble
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Oil is on track for its biggest weekly decline since 2008 as the coronavirus pandemic wreaks havoc on fuel demand and threatens global economic stability.
Futures in New York tumbled 4.5% on Thursday and are on track for a 24% weekly drop. President Donald Trump’s restriction on travel from Europe for the next 30 days, in an attempt to contain the coronavirus, darkened the outlook for fuel demand. At the same time, Brent crude’s one-year structure collapsed into a supercontango for the first time since 2015, suggesting a large oversupply as responses by the U.S. and European policy makers have failed to stem the price rout.