Crude prices fell sharply on Monday with US crude briefly dropping below $20 and Brent hitting its lowest level in 18 years on heightened fears that the global coronavirus shutdown could last months and demand for fuel could evaporate further.
Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil prices, was down $1.93, or 7.7 per cent, at $23.00 by 0820 GMT, after earlier dropping to $22.76, the lowest since November 2002.
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell $1.14, or 5.3 per cent, to $20.37.
The price of oil is now so low that it is becoming unprofitable to many oil firms to remain active, analysts said, and higher cost producers will have no choice but to shut production, especially since storage capacities are almost full.
