2020.04.2110:28:00UTC+00Oil Rout Continues On Coronavirus Fears

Oil prices continued to plunge on Tuesday as the coronavirus pandemic caused oil demand to evaporate so rapidly that the world is running out of room to store barrels.

Benchmark Brent crude slumped nearly 18 percent to $21 a barrel, after having drifted below $20 a barrel earlier in the day to touch its lowest level since 2002.

The May contract of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures in the U.S., which would end later in the day, again turned negative due to high supplies and shortage of storage facilities.

"Worldwide available capacity that is not in maintenance is almost all gone and from what I hear elsewhere in the world we're not the only ones," the Bloomberg quoted the chief financial officer of Rotterdam-based Royal Vopak NV as saying in an interview.

According to the International Energy Agency, demand in April is estimated to be 29 million barrels/day lower than a year ago, down to a level last seen in 1995.

U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters at a news conference on Monday that his administration was considering the possibility of stopping incoming Saudi Arabian crude oil shipments as a measure to support the battered domestic drilling industry.

A lot of U.S. shale producers are in deep trouble and analysts expect that low oil price for few more months will result in a spate of bankruptcies in the country.