ian equities sharply lower.
However, focus is now on the June contract, which had trading volumes more than 30 times higher. That rose towards $21 a barrel, from $20.43 on Monday.The collapse in WTI "was driven by a precipitous drop in demand caused by the market expectation that the US lockdown could continue into May", said Tai Hui at JP Morgan Asset Management.
Oil markets have been ravaged this year after the pandemic was compounded by a price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia. While the two have drawn a line under the dispute and agreed with other top producers to slash output by almost 10 million barrels a day, that is not enough to offset the lack of demand.