Benchmark US oil prices ‘crashed into negative territory for the first time in history’ last night as the evaporation of demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic ‘leaves the world awash with oil and not enough storage capacity’, the Financial Times reported.
This meant that ‘producers are paying buyers to take it off their hands’.
The BBC reported that producers feared storage capacity could run out in May.
‘Demand for oil has all but dried up as lockdowns across the world have kept people inside. As a result, oil firms have resorted to renting tankers to store the surplus supply and that has forced the price of US oil into negative territory.’
The price of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the benchmark for US oil, fell as low as minus $37.63 a barrel.
Earlier this month, Opec members and its allies finally agreed a record deal to slash global output by about 10%. The deal was the largest cut in oil production ever agreed.
But some analysts said the cuts were not big enough to make a difference.
Four more South Africans have died, bringing fatalities to 58, and positive cases rose by 142 to 3 300. There have been 1 055 recoveries. So far, 121 510 South Africans have been tested.
Mounting hunger evidently led to the looting of two food trucks in Cape Town. The drivers of both vehicles were injured when looters, who had barricaded Robert Sobukwe Drive, pelted the trucks with stones. Police arrested four people in connection with the incident.
Western Cape police spokesperson Sergeant Noloyiso Rwexana said: ‘A group of people helped themselves to the contents inside the trucks.’
News24 reported that a second person had died allegedly at the hands of police. The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) was investigating the circumstances of the death of a 23-year-old Soweto man.
Also in Gauteng, provincial authorities said some hospitals were being cleared to serve solely as Covid-19 facilities. This would boost capacity by 555 standard beds and 308 intensive care unit beds.
African National Congress deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte urged communities to report corrupt or thieving local councillors. This follows reports of councillors looting food parcels meant for the most vulnerable.
‘We believe it is completely unconscionable for anyone to use food parcels right now for political patronage,’ said Duarte.
In his weekly letter from the presidency, President Cyril Ramaphosa referred to the hoarding or selling of food parcels as ‘disgusting’.
In other virus-related news
- AFP reported that China rejected Australia’s call for a probe into the global response to the pandemic – including Beijing’s early handling of the outbreak. Washington and several allies have accused China of failing to adequately respond to the threat in the weeks after it was first detected in Wuhan late last year. But Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said the accusations disrespected ‘the Chinese people’s tremendous efforts and sacrifices’ in fighting the contagion. ‘Any question about China’s transparency in the prevention and control of [the] epidemic situation is not in line with facts,’ Geng said;
- There are more than 2.4 million infections worldwide, with more than 166 000 deaths;
- Germany, along with Norway and Denmark, have begun easing lockdown measures; and
- Italy remains in lockdown, but the BBC reports that the latest data showed the lowest number of new confirmed cases in a month.