Oil Market Crashes Further, Dragging Down Stocks

BANGKOK (AP) — The oil market is plunging further on concerns over a collapse in demand as the pandemic leaves factories, cars and airplanes idled around the world.

The extreme volatility in energy markets highlights investors’ worries about the duration of the coronavirus outbreak and its impact on the economy.

That is in turn weighing on financial markets more broadly, including stocks, which are down heavily on Tuesday.

The benchmark U.S. oil contract was down $4.78 at just $15.65 per barrel on Tuesday.

It fell below zero a day earlier, in part due to technical factors, as investors sought to cope with a lack of oil storage and plunging demand.