US light crude fell $2.30 or 10.3% to $20.11 a barrel and Brent crude futures fell $2.14, or 6.7%, to $29.60 a barrel. (File pic shows storage tanks in Cushing, Oklahoma.)
NEW YORK: Oil prices dropped sharply on Tuesday, with U.S. prices sliding back toward $20 a barrel, as investors bet that fuel demand destruction caused by the coronavirus pandemic would be too much for producers embarking on record global output cuts to offset.
Global oil-producing nations are expected to reduce production by as much as 19.5 million barrels per day, but those cuts are being implemented slowly and in some cases will not start for weeks. By contrast, demand plunged by roughly 30% worldwide several weeks ago, causing refiners and producers suddenly stuck with oil to stick it into rapidly filling storage.
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