2020.04.2810:20:00UTC+00Oil Prices Mixed In Choppy Trade

Oil prices were seeing extreme price swings on Tuesday amid fears that global oil storage is running out and that the coronavirus pandemic would continue to weaken demand.

Benchmark Brent crude rose about 1 percent to $23.29 in choppy trade, while West Texas Intermediate U.S. crude futures were down 3.6 percent at $12.32 per barrel.

WTI fell 24.56 percent, or $4.16, to settle at $12.78 per barrel on Monday, while Brent crude slumped 6.76 percent to close at $19.99.

South Korea has run out of oil storage space that can be leased to third-party companies, the Bloomberg reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

Storage at Cushing, Oklahoma, is also reaching its maximum limit, triggering a massive swing in the price relationship between the June and July contracts.

On Monday, the United States Oil Fund LP said it would exit its position in the front-month June crude oil futures contract and may need to hold more cash to satisfy potential margin requirements.

Goldman Sachs warned last week that the market will test global storage capacity in the next 3-4 weeks.

Meanwhile, as coronavirus ravages global economy, oil demand is not expected to recover anytime soon.