Oil’s Spectacular Covid Crash Set the World Up for $100 Crude
The energy industry cut back during the pandemic, paving the way for a runaway rally that has huge implications for the global economy.
On April 20, 2020, West Texas Intermediate crude, the U.S. benchmark, dropped to minus $40 a barrel. Oil industry leaders were forced into drastic choices that would affect the industry’s growth and its appeal to investors for years to come.
Photographer: Justin Merriman/BloombergThe two-year Covid crisis put many markets on a wild ride—just look at U.S. Treasuries—but few have had a crazier time than crude oil: from total collapse in 2020 to the brink of $100 a barrel today.
It’s not only the price swings that have shocked motorists, investors, CEOs and OPEC+ ministers alike. An entire industry has gone from being written off as a wounded dinosaur and shunned by investors to getting pressure from the U.S. President to step up and save the economic recovery.