Hours after United States benchmark crude prices stunned even hardened oil veterans with a sudden, sharp crash into negative territory, President Donald Trump said his administration will look at a proposal to block Saudi Arabian oil shipments to the US to help buoy the US shale oil industry against an unprecedented rout that threatens its survival.
“Well, I’ll look at it,” Trump told reporters at a daily news conference after he was asked about requests by some Republican legislators to block the shipments under his executive authority.
The May contract for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude went into a death spiral on Monday, plunging more than 300 percent with prices turning negative. At its lowest point, the May WTI contract touched -$40.32 before settling at -$37.63.
The contract is due to expire on Tuesday. Negative prices signals that traders are willing to pay to have oil taken off their hands.
Trump described the historic fall in oil prices as more of a short term financial squeeze on traders and said his administration would like to take advantage of historically low prices to top up the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserves.
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