U.S. President Donald Trump addresses the daily coronavirus task force briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., April 20, 2020. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
April 20, 2020
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump described a historic drop in oil prices on Monday as short-term and stemming from a “financial squeeze,” adding the administration would consider stopping oil shipments from Saudi Arabia to lift the market.
Speaking at a daily news conference, Trump also said his administration planned to top up the nation’s emergency crude oil stockpile as prices plunge.
The Department of Energy is in the process of leasing some of the roughly 77 million barrels of available space in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to U.S. oil companies to help them deal with the dearth of commercial storage as the coronavirus outbreak crushes domestic energy demand https://www.reuters.com/article/global-oil-usa-spr/update-1-us-negotiating-contracts-to-store-23-mln-bbls-of-oil-in-spr-idUSL2N2C20KY.
U.S. crude oil futures collapsed below $0 on Monday for the first time in history, amid a coronavirus-induced supply glut, ending the day at a stunning minus $37.63 a barrel as desperate traders paid to get rid of oil.
(Reporting by Jeff Mason; Writing by Richard Valdmanis; Editing by Peter Cooney)
