U.S. Oil Prices Plunge Into Negative Territory: Live Updates

U.S. Oil Prices Plunge Into Negative Territory: Live Updates

Oil Prices Plunge Into Negative Territory: Live Updates. Something bizarre happened in the oil markets on Monday: Prices fell so much that some traders paid buyers to take oil off their hands.. The price of the main U.S. oil benchmark fell more than $50 a barrel to end the day about $30 below zero, the first time oil prices have ever turned negative.. Prices went negative - meaning that anyone trying to sell a barrel would have to pay a buyer $30 - in part because of the way oil is traded.. Futures contracts that require buyers to take possession of oil in May are expiring on Tuesday, and nobody wanted the oil because there was no place to store it.. Futures markets predicted declines in the United States and Europe later in the day.. Monday's stock moves were exacerbated by turmoil in the oil markets, as the price of oil dipped below zero, meaning some holders were ready to pay people to take a barrel of crude off their hands.. Oil prices in the United States rose 4 percent in futures markets, as many investors shifted from trading in one kind of contract to another.. But Brent, the European