<p>Oil prices fell into negative territory in New York trading on Monday for the first time ever, with the coronavirus pandemic slashing demand and creating a supply glut.</p>.<p>Here we look back at a tumultuous six-week period for black gold.</p>.<p>At the start of a two-day meeting of the OPEC oil-producing nations and their "OPEC+" partners including Russia, the price of crude falls below $50 dollars a barrel for the first time since 2017.</p>.<p>For comparison, it reached a record $145 a barrel in 2008.</p>.<p>The price of oil drops by 10 percent after the OPEC talks break up without agreement, Russia refusing to reduce their oil output in order to boost the market.</p>.<p>Markets plunge 20 percent, nearing $30 a barrel after Saudi Arabia announced it was cutting its oil price. The move triggers a price war with Russia, with the two oil-producing giants seeking to grow their share of the global market.</p>.<p>The price of oil on the US and London markets continues to fall to levels unseen since 2002, with the US benchmark West Texas Intermediate price dipping below $20 dollars a barrel.</p>.<p>The crude price rebounds by a historic 25 percent after US President Donald Trump hints that Riyadh and Moscow plan to end their price war with a sharp reduction in output.</p>.<p>Prices rise another 10 percent on optimism that an end to the price war is imminent.</p>.<p>The WTI rises nine percent to $22 per barrel after OPEC and its allies reach agreement to reduce production by 10 million barrels per day. However there is nothing OPEC+ can do to halt the drop in demand caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.</p>.<p>A journey into the unknown for the oil market. The value of a barrel of oil plummets to below zero as investors and speculators seek to offload into a market so saturated that storage capacity is running out, with no reprieve in sight due to weak demand.</p>.<p>The price for WTI for May delivery ends trading at -$37.63 a barrel ahead of Tuesday's close for futures contracts -- when traders who buy and sell the commodity for profit would have had to take physical possession of it.</p>.<p>"It's a contract for something that nobody wants to buy," said Matt Smith of ClipperData.</p>
<p>Oil prices fell into negative territory in New York trading on Monday for the first time ever, with the coronavirus pandemic slashing demand and creating a supply glut.</p>.<p>Here we look back at a tumultuous six-week period for black gold.</p>.<p>At the start of a two-day meeting of the OPEC oil-producing nations and their "OPEC+" partners including Russia, the price of crude falls below $50 dollars a barrel for the first time since 2017.</p>.<p>For comparison, it reached a record $145 a barrel in 2008.</p>.<p>The price of oil drops by 10 percent after the OPEC talks break up without agreement, Russia refusing to reduce their oil output in order to boost the market.</p>.<p>Markets plunge 20 percent, nearing $30 a barrel after Saudi Arabia announced it was cutting its oil price. The move triggers a price war with Russia, with the two oil-producing giants seeking to grow their share of the global market.</p>.<p>The price of oil on the US and London markets continues to fall to levels unseen since 2002, with the US benchmark West Texas Intermediate price dipping below $20 dollars a barrel.</p>.<p>The crude price rebounds by a historic 25 percent after US President Donald Trump hints that Riyadh and Moscow plan to end their price war with a sharp reduction in output.</p>.<p>Prices rise another 10 percent on optimism that an end to the price war is imminent.</p>.<p>The WTI rises nine percent to $22 per barrel after OPEC and its allies reach agreement to reduce production by 10 million barrels per day. However there is nothing OPEC+ can do to halt the drop in demand caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.</p>.<p>A journey into the unknown for the oil market. The value of a barrel of oil plummets to below zero as investors and speculators seek to offload into a market so saturated that storage capacity is running out, with no reprieve in sight due to weak demand.</p>.<p>The price for WTI for May delivery ends trading at -$37.63 a barrel ahead of Tuesday's close for futures contracts -- when traders who buy and sell the commodity for profit would have had to take physical possession of it.</p>.<p>"It's a contract for something that nobody wants to buy," said Matt Smith of ClipperData.</p>