WTI oil prices plummeted today and the futures are trading at negative values.
To explain:
-due to covid-19 lockdown measures the demand for oil is at record lows so there’s an oversupply of oil in the market

-oil traders are having trouble accessing storage facilities for the extra oil
-producers have to give away or even pay buyers to take the oil since they can’t store it

The alternative for giving away the oil is completely shutting down the wells which will hurt producers even more than having to pay buyers to take their extra oil.

Also this lack of storage capacity is a US problem, not a global issue. Hence the reason WTI (the US benchmark oil price) is plummeting while Brent is holding steady.

-Vanita Maharaj, Senior Analyst
Capital Markets Corporate & Investment Banking at First Citizens