When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, demand for crude oil fell suddenly. The pandemic exposed the logistics and storage constraints of the US landlocked oil infrastructure that was oversupplied by domestic and imported crude. But it also raised fundamental questions about the role and importance of financial trading on the futures market.
When WTI crashed on 20 April 2020, the COVID-19 crisis with its associated drop in energy demand exposed the serious limitations to the oil infrastructure in the US. How are financial valuations of oil tied to the specifics of place? And how do the material dimensions of moving and storing oil inform the dynamics of its trade?
