In the early hours of April 21, Beijing time, WTI crude oil futures fell below $1 / BBL, down more than 94% on the day, which was a historic moment.In a historic sell-off, oil futures are now trading at their lowest level since 1983.

    Over the past month, experts have warned that oil prices could go negative, which in effect means companies have started paying customers to take them away.Why is that?Those concerns finally surfaced on Monday when our oil reserves ran out after demand dried up during the coronavirus pandemic.

    As the new epidemic spreads all over the world, people are staying at home and almost all travel plans are cancelled. As a result, the demand for fuel for cars and planes has dropped sharply, which directly affects the oil manufacturing industry.It is not uncommon to see gasoline prices below $1 a gallon at gas stations across the country today.

    The last crash occurred in March, after the outbreak in the United States, when demand began to fall and Saudi Arabia began selling cheap oil to the market in a crude price war with Russia.Although Opec members have agreed to cut production by more than 9m barrels a day, that is not enough to overcome the glut in the market that has led to the price drop.