![graph showing the drop in oil price Below Zero WTI traded in negative territory for the first time OIL] 20:00 04:00 n:oo 12:00 16:00](https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/033/648/asd.png "2020 Oil Price Crash"){kind=icon}
2020 Oil Price Crash
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Overview
2020 Oil Price Crash refers to a significant drop in oil prices to below zero dollars for the first time in history. The crash was in part due to the global COVID-19 pandemic and despite US President Donald Trump announcing he had helped out with a deal that would mend the oil trade war between Russia and OPEC.
Background
On April 20th, 2020, oil prices saw a 306% decrease to a price of around $-30 dollars, down from approximately 20 dollars last month in March. This marks the first time ever in history that oil prices have dropped this low.[5] That day CNBC shared a chart illustrating the drop to Twitter[1] (shown below).
![CNBC Now ( CNBC @CNBCnow BREAKING: Crude oil falls 300% to nearly negative $40 per barrel cnb.cx/3cDZj9v WTI CRUDE (MAY) -37.06 -55.33 [-302.85%] . 24-HOUR 40 18.27 CLOSE -20 -40 4/19/20 4/20/20 1A 3A 5A 7A 9A 6P 8P 10P 12P 2P 2:30 PM - Apr 20, 2020 · Twitter Web App](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/837/977/ec4.png "Crash")
Developments
On April 20th, 2020, many Twitter users compared the price of a barrel of crude oil to other things. Twitter user @imchained2katy[3] tweeted, "Netflix subscription is nearly 26 times more expensive than a barrel of oil #OilPrice" (shown below, left). The tweet gained over 1,700 likes and 770 retweets in a day. That same day, Redditor SocietysJoker posted a scene from Joker referencing negative oil prices to r/moviescirclejerk[2] (shown below, right). The post received 1,700 points (100% upvoted) in a day.
The next day, Twitter users continued to discuss the price of oil and considered buying oil as an investment. Twitter user @Atheist_Krishna[4] tweeted, "Ordered crude oil worth Rs 100 as future investment. #OilCrash" and accumulated over 5,400 likes and 500 retweets in a day.
Various Examples
![CNBC Now ( CNBC @CNBCnow BREAKING: Crude oil falls 300% to nearly negative $40 per barrel cnb.cx/3cDZj9v WTI CRUDE (MAY) -37.06 -55.33 [-302.85%] . 24-HOUR 40 18.27 CLOSE -20 -40 4/19/20 4/20/20 1A 3A 5A 7A 9A 6P 8P 10P 12P 2P 2:30 PM - Apr 20, 2020 · Twitter Web App](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/list/001/837/977/ec4.png "Crash")
Top Comments
LastAngryWrestleman
Apr 20, 2020 at 06:05PM EDT
pinkiespy - goat spy
Apr 20, 2020 at 07:27PM EDT