Amid coronavirus pandemic, US benchmark WTI oil collapses to $0.01 a barrel

US benchmark WTI oil collapsed to $0.01 a barrel in New York as the coronavirus epidemic ravaged the oil market.

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A major supply glut and the coronavirus epidemic which has led to a fall in demand led to a crash in prices never seen before in the international oil prices.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for May delivery continued to sink to the unheard of price of a penny a barrel, before inching up to $0.27.

The crash came even as OPEC and Russia had last week reached a deal to cut output by nearly 10 million barrels per day starting May to boost prices.

With the global economy coming to a virtual standstill with several countries across the world including the US on a lockdown, the demand for oil has plunged to a historic low.

The crash in oil prices hit the US stock exchange with Dow down 1.3 per cent to 23,930.97 with S&P 500 losing 0.8 per cent to 2,851.58, while the Nasdaq dipping 0.1 per cent to 8,641.94.