# Over a barrel: how oil prices dropped below zero | Oil | The Guardian

> Oil producers were paying buyers to take barrels because storage facilities were full, with the market's lowest point on Monday implying a payment of about $40 per barrel. Buyers would face transport and storage costs and would need to bet on higher prices later to profit, so many producers are expected to shut wells until the market recovers.

- Date: 2020-04-20 · published 2020-04-20T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: market · region Global · magnitude high
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/5314-over-a-barrel-how-oil-prices-dropped-below-zero-oil-the-guardian
- Commodities: [Crude Oil (WTI)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/WTI.md), [Crude Oil (Brent)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/BRENT.md)

## Why it matters

Storage saturation removes the option to hold surplus crude, forcing production shut-ins that tighten supply. The price signal here is bearish near-term crude but points toward eventual supply cuts.

## Read by commodity

- WTI: bearish ▼
- BRENT: bearish ▼

## Linked price moves

| Commodity | Date | Window | Change % | z-score | Why linked |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| BRENT | 2020-04-21 | 5 | -58.0% | -11.5 | Explains the storage-full mechanism behind producers paying buyers to take barrels, contributing to the bearish sentiment around the contract rolls. |

## Sources

- theguardian.com: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/apr/20/over-a-barrel-how-oil-prices-dropped-below-zero

---
Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.