OIL PRICE - TOKYO. Oil prices slumped again on Wednesday, with Brent falling to the lowest since 1999, as the market struggled with a massive crude glut amid a collapse in demand for everything from gasoline to jet fuel caused by the coronavirus outbreak.
Brent crude, which fell 24% in the previous session, touched US$ 15.98 a barrel, its lowest since June 1999. It was trading down US$ 2.37, or 12%, at US$ 16.96 at 0511 GMT.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was down 51 cents, or 4.4%, at US$ 11.06 a barrel.
Read Also: Negative $ 40 oil reflects panic and U.S. crude market economic reality
The falls follow two of the wildest days in the history of oil trading, as worldwide supply looks set to overwhelm demand for months to come and current production cuts fall far short of offsetting that glut.
The front-month U.S. contract fell into negative territory for the first time in history on Monday and set a record for the number of contracts traded on Tuesday.
Oil prices have slumped by around 80% this year as the pandemic has spread across the world, killing almost 180,000 people, routing financial markets and leading to what could be the worst economic meltdown since the depression of the 1930s.
