Consumers are still paying less for gasoline with the oil market suffering a bizarre drop Monday.
With the coronavirus pandemic resulting in a collapse of the petroleum market and less demand at the pumps, the price of oil in the U.S. ventured into strange territory -- the negative. CNN reported Monday afternoon that the price went to a negative-$37.81 per barrel, its lowest price since the New York Mercantile Exchange began tracking oil futures in 1983.
The trend appears to be poised to go on for some time. The New York Times reported Monday that prices for oil have fallen off so much, some producers have been reduced to paying consumers to take it.
To complicate matters further, the increasing oil glut means that producers are running out of places to put the product.
The graph below, reproduced in the Times Monday from Refinitiv, shows the oil's precipitous tumble.
The drop is rough news for oil producers, but good news for commuters, as GasBuddy.com reported an eighth consecutive week of falling gas prices. The U.S. national average price of a gallon of self-serve regular is at $1.78. The average Canadian price of a litre of self-serve regular is 78 cents a litre, according to the Blackburn News running tally of prices compiled by GasBuddy.
"With oil again at new multi-decade lows, we still have room for prices to fall nearly countrywide, though areas with lower prices will see little decline," said Patrick DeHaan, the lead petroleum analyst for GasBuddy. "With the wounds to the oil industry growing deeper, it’s becoming more likely that even after most Americans return to work, there will be a hangover to the low prices that many motorists will eventually be able to take advantage of."
On Monday afternoon, the median low price for gas in Windsor, Chatham-Kent and London was 74 cents a litre.
