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Oil Can’t Shake 18-Year Low Amid Surging Supply, Bleak Demand

China economy shrinks; refiners around the world cut purchases
WTI futures end week of OPEC agreement down 20%, Brent drops

Bloomberg business news — April 15: IEA Sees Record Collapse in Global Oil Demand

By

Alex Longley and

April 16, 2020, 10:16 PM UTCUpdated onApril 17, 2020, 9:05 PM UTC

Oil closed the week at the lowest since 2002 as an historic OPEC+ production cut failed to counter a wave of gloomy demand forecasts and concerns that traders are quickly running out of room to store crude.

Futures in New York ended the week down 20% after Sunday’s agreement by OPEC+ to cut output by almost 10 million barrels a day. The agreement wasn’t enough to overcome signs that energy demand was cratering as people sheltered from the coronavirus pandemic.