Forbes - The COVID-19 pandemic has sent U.S. oil prices tumbling to their lowest level since 1999 amid evaporating demand and a lack of storage. The price of West Texas Intermediate, a major U.S. oil benchmark, was down almost 18% at just under $14.99 per barrel when European markets opened on Monday. The price was even lower in Asian trading at just $14.49 per barrel. The losses were exacerbated by the pending expiration of the May futures contract which is expected to happen tomorrow.

Faced with a glut of oil that's clogging up storage facilities, OPEC members agreed to slash global production by 10% earlier this month, the largest cut to output ever agreed. Back in 1999, prices dipped below $16 per barrel, primarily due to Iraq ramping up production at the same time as the Asian Financial Crisis when demand remained low. Despite that, prices did recover rapidly soon afterwards, increasing to $35 per barrel by September of 2000.