Gasoline Futures Plummet to 20-Year Low On Flatlining Demand
Gasoline Futures Hit 50 Cents a Gallon For First Time Since 2001
(Bloomberg) -- U.S. gasoline futures settled at the lowest in more than two decades as the coronavirus pandemic crushed demand and forced local governments across the country to issue shelter-in-place orders.
Nymex futures prices fell 32% on Monday. The price fallout has also forced widespread production cuts at refineries across the country. Profit margins on fuel production have collapsed with the spread between West Texas Intermediate crude and Nymex RBOB futures turning negative for the first time since 2008.
Crude and fuel prices have plummeted this month as Saudi Arabia and Russia pump supply into the market at an unprecedented rate, further hurting an energy complex that’s already hit with weaker global consumption due to the virus. Further complicating matters, the world is also running out of space for jet fuel storage.
Pump prices at a few U.S. stations have fallen to under $1 a gallon and drivers are likely to see prices continuing to drop. Retail prices are likely to dip below $1.99 a gallon in next three days and under $1.50 by mid-April, according to Patrick DeHaan, an analyst at GasBuddy.
Nymex gasoline futures settled at 41.18 cents a gallon, the lowest level since March 1999. The European gasoline benchmark fell more than 30% on Monday to the lowest since at least 2010, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
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