The price of a barrel of benchmark US oil plunged below $0 a barrel on Monday for the first time in history, a troubling sign of an unprecedented global energy glut as the coronavirus pandemic halts travel and curbs economic activity.
The contract for West Texas intermediate crude, or WTI, is the benchmark for US crude oil prices. On Monday, it looked like this:
Such a steep drop in the oil benchmark prompted strong reactions beyond trading floors. Even domestic doyenne Martha Stewart tweeted about it.
Here is an explanation of what negative crude prices mean in the real world:
