US oil prices fell heavily on Monday and slipped below $15 a barrel on renewed storage concerns as the coronavirus throttles demand, even as producers start slashing output to boost markets.
American benchmark West Texas Intermediate dropped 15 percent to $14.39 a barrel in Asian afternoon trade, reversing direction after several days of gains last week.
Brent crude, the international benchmark, was off nearly six percent at $20.16 a barrel.
Oil prices have collapsed in recent weeks as demand evaporated because of lockdowns and travel restrictions imposed worldwide to fight the virus.
Last week, US oil fell below zero for the first time as investors scrambled to offload it before the expiry of a trading contract, but could not readily find buyers.
