We have now entered the crude oil twilight zone. Never before has crude traded below zero, much less at the absurd level of negative $37.63/bbl. There is no doubt that demand for crude and motor gasoline are far below crude production volumes, leaving the market vastly oversupplied. But could it really be this bad? When you are talking about the market for physical barrels, the answer is “no”. It is bad. Really bad. But what happened yesterday had more to do with the mechanics of futures contracts and how they transition from month to month, than a complete mega-meltdown in physical barrels. That is not to say that negative prices for physical barrels are not already a fact of life in some locations. But negative $37.63/bbl? Something else must be going on. So, to put yesterday’s bizarre market action in perspective, we need to get into a few details on futures contract mechanics, and then look forward to what may be coming over the next few weeks. In today’s blog, we discuss the factors that are driving such extraordinary crude market developments.
One Way Out – Yesterday’s Crude Price Meltdown, Futures Contract Expiration and Crude Storage
