While still trading at $60 in January, the price of a barrel of US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil for delivery in May collapsed on 20 April into negative territory, at -37.63 dollars, as market operators literally paid their counterparties to get rid of their position in a saturated market at any cost. This was unprecedented in the turbulent history of the oil market. Since its inception in 1983, WTI’s barrel had never fallen below $10 a barrel. More representative of African oil prices, a barrel of Brent, listed in London, fell 9% to end the session at $25.57, close to its annual lows.