# Oil ends March with biggest monthly and quarterly losses ever

> Crude oil benchmarks ended March with their biggest monthly and quarterly losses on record, each losing roughly two-thirds of its value in the quarter. The declines followed the coronavirus-driven economic freeze and a price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia. Trump and Putin agreed to talks on stabilizing energy markets, which gave prices some support.

- Date: 2020-03-31 · published 2020-03-31T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: macro · region Global · magnitude high
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/5320-oil-ends-march-with-biggest-monthly-and-quarterly-losses-ever
- Commodities: [Crude Oil (WTI)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/WTI.md), [Crude Oil (Brent)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/BRENT.md)

## Why it matters

Collapsing fuel demand and a supply surge cut crude prices sharply, which lowers diesel and energy costs for feed producers and feed ingredients' freight and processing costs. The price pressure is expected to continue while demand stays depressed.

## Read by commodity

- WTI: bearish ▼
- BRENT: bearish ▼

## Linked price moves

| Commodity | Date | Window | Change % | z-score | Why linked |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| BRENT | 2020-03-31 | 1 | -22.6% | -4.1 | Describes the March 31 close with record monthly/quarterly losses driven by demand collapse and the Saudi-Russia price war, matching the day's selloff context. |
| BRENT | 2020-03-31 | 5 | -39.4% | -6.8 | Record monthly and quarterly losses on Mar 31 reflect demand freeze and price war; Trump-Putin talks gave only limited support. |

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| WTI | 2021-08-31 | [Oil prices near biggest monthly loss since October before OPEC meets](https://feedsoft.ai/events/45722-oil-prices-near-biggest-monthly-loss-since-october-before-opec-meets.md) | -1.2% | +8.9% |
| WTI | 2021-04-21 | [Canadian dollar sees biggest drop in nearly 2 months as oil falls](https://feedsoft.ai/events/47853-canadian-dollar-sees-biggest-drop-in-nearly-2-months-as-oil-falls.md) | +0.7% | +4.7% |
| WTI | 2018-12-20 | [Oil plunges nearly 5 percent to 17-month low as stock market slumps](https://feedsoft.ai/events/8704-oil-plunges-nearly-5-percent-to-17-month-low-as-stock-market-slumps.md) | -6.7% | +12.5% |
| WTI | 2022-03-16 | [Palm extends losses - Markets - Business Recorder](https://feedsoft.ai/events/5497-palm-extends-losses-markets-business-recorder.md) | +15.4% | +4.3% |
| WTI | 2020-02-28 | [U.S. oil futures suffer largest weekly percentage loss in over a decade - MarketWatch](https://feedsoft.ai/events/7113-u-s-oil-futures-suffer-largest-weekly-percentage-loss-in-over-a-decade.md) | -2.6% | -61.0% |
| BRENT | 2021-08-31 | [Oil prices near biggest monthly loss since October before OPEC meets](https://feedsoft.ai/events/45722-oil-prices-near-biggest-monthly-loss-since-october-before-opec-meets.md) | -0.4% | +8.7% |
| BRENT | 2018-12-20 | [Oil plunges nearly 5 percent to 17-month low as stock market slumps](https://feedsoft.ai/events/8704-oil-plunges-nearly-5-percent-to-17-month-low-as-stock-market-slumps.md) | -8.1% | +10.6% |
| BRENT | 2020-02-28 | [U.S. oil futures suffer largest weekly percentage loss in over a decade - MarketWatch](https://feedsoft.ai/events/7113-u-s-oil-futures-suffer-largest-weekly-percentage-loss-in-over-a-decade.md) | -3.0% | -52.3% |

## Sources

- reuters.com: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil/oil-rises-after-18-year-lows-prompt-u-s-russia-talks-plan-idUSKBN21I03I/?il=0

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