When West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil plummeted to a closing price of –US $37.63 on 20 April 2020, the spot price of Brent crude oil only fell to US $17.36. This striking price difference between these two rival crude oil benchmarks highlights important dynamics that pertain to not only the supply and demand of oil, but also the social construction of futures markets.
In a world that has been described as ‘petromodern’ and with oil as its beating blood, how can oil trade in negative prices? And how does this highlight the relationship between the physical and virtual dimensions of oil markets?
