The s p 500 are lower. Wti trading at 5. 31. We have a lot to discuss about the oil markets. The 40s and staying there. The dollar index inching ever higher. Sticking with the oil markets, we had that etf halted earlier today, as it was tapped out. Lets take a deeper dive in the oil market with taylor riggs. Taylor as you mentioned, a risk off tone across the board even as we look across asset. High yield of debt is down, so is copper. 10 year yields down to 56 basis points or so. The lowest yields going back to march. The dollar is stronger, treasuries are stronger. Dollar is ruling in this time of stress. Something else going on in the oil markets, on the uso etf, it was briefly halted for volatility trading. It is now reopened but we are still down. It does reflect the changes we have seen in the wti contract. It has been plummeting along with the price of oil. If you look at the chart im showing in my terminal, something wonky is going on in the etf market, given there is such a rush of the retail ip, tryingto buy the d to call a bottom in the oil market. The fund is running out of shares to sell. They have not gotten approval yet to get more. Shares relative to the underlying commodity. And the broader oil market, certainly something catching our attention today. Vonnie lets stay with that story and dig deeper. Joining us now is Robert Yawger of mizuho group. A busy couple of days. What do you anticipate will happen in the oil market the next couple of days . A lot of outside forces at work, including the president and the texas commission. Robert there is a lot going on in the next couple of hours. May expirations starting at 2 00. I can only imagine that will be mayhem. That contract traded to a negative value for the first time yesterday in history. A lot of folks have been on their radar. It will be an historical moment. Seeill be interesting to what happens if it settles in negative territory. How do you expire negative territory . We may find out shortly. You have been hitting on the uso. The problem with the market, to a certain degree, there are no more buyers here anymore because of coronavirus. Refiners have no interest in buying because consumption has fallen so low. Nobody is driving, so nobody needs the gasoline. Airlines do not need jet fuel. The cruise lines nobody is going on vacation. You have a total demand destruction scenario. Crude oiluyer of may up until yesterday was the uso. In about three weeks, you will have the same situation with june crude oil. Everyone knows that. There is no way we are bringing the economy back, bringing the demand situation back by then. It will also be a pretty ugly supply situation between now and then, especially with the saudis unloading 40 Million Barrels of crude oil in the next couple of weeks. Vonnie it is a small number of barrels that treated negatively. We are talking about a very barrels. Ber of even with all the storage in the world, there is not enough space, there are not enough ships off the coast. As far as trading on the nymex on this late date in the calendar, most people dont want to do anything with a spot contract on expiration. You dont want to be the guy holding the rabbit at the end of the day. You want to come into expirations flat. Excertain people and large businesses, but nobody wants to own the may contract coming into today. I would not be surprised to see some serious oldschool fireworks in the last half hour. But storage is getting close to maximum levels. At the current rate of build that you see in eia every week, i submitted a bill of 17 million to the bloomberg folks this week, so i expect a big number. If you extrapolate that to the theoretical Storage Still available, we will have storage for about 7, 8 weeks. The delivery site at cushing is already problematic. Fouris filling at three to weeks. If you phillip storage, the only alternative is to store on railroad carriers, or put it out on floating carriers. The last time we had a big storage situation like this, a lot of crude oil was sent on rail, a lot was sent out to sea. Is when we posted the previous alltime record storage numbers, so there are some records to be learned from that. Vonnie does it matter with the Texas RailroadCommission Decides . Quota,missioner is pro the others are abstaining right now. It seems too late to make any sort of decision that would have any meaning impact on this market. Robert it is not going to do anything to change the dynamics the next five days, probably the next month. This is a very fastmoving situation as far as the demand destruction and the virus is concerned. Ree need to take two to th Million Barrels of the market yesterday, and its not happening. There is too much crude oil and that is getting stuff in storage. It is a global problem. More crude oil is on the way. There is no common agreement between the players on what to do. It is not a good situation as far as pricing is concerned. Vonnie we will be watching the market very closely. Robert yawger, thank you. Lets get a check on the bloomberg first word news with mark crumpton. Mark as we have been reporting, President Trump is pledging to make money available to the oil industry. He asked cabinet members to come up with a plan to prevent a loss of jobs. That comes a day after a key Oil Futures Contract plunged below zero for the first time. We will continue to follow this story throughout the day here on bloomberg television. Are startingspain to see their coronavirus numbers show signs of improvement. The number of new cases and deaths has dropped to about half of what they were at the beginning of april. That is prompting the Spanish Government to shift focus to a possible easing of lockdown measures. Japans Prime Minister shinzo says people are not distancingocial measures as much as they should be. The Prime Minister declared a state of emergency two weeks ago but movement of people is not down that much at major train stations distancing measures as much as they should be. , and even less in downtown areas, where restaurants and Grocery Stores are open. The Prime Minister says the countrys hospitals are already overburdened, and the rate of infection has to be slowed. Global news 24 hours a day, onair, and on quicktake by bloomberg, powered by more than 2700 journalists and analysts in over 120 countries. Im mark crumpton. This is bloomberg. , and even len downtown vonnie this is Bloomberg Markets. Im vonnie quinn. Oils meltdown a ring today as the world runs out of places to store crude and grapples with negative pricing. President trump and others weighing in on the crisis. Nobody has ever heard of negative oil. We probably will not see this again in my lifetime but it is a reflection of how oversupplied the market is, how weak demand is, and how tight the term structure has gotten. I think your concern to see it come into balance next year. Going forward, north american production will be structurally impaired. It is a perfect storm for the Oil Producers out there, and you are seeing that reflected in the prices. This is not good for the u. S. Economy. Everyone will be looking at and taking signals from what is happening. June couldecovering, end up following may. Vonnie lets discuss how companies will survive in this time. Mayor,joined by regina kpmg global head of energy. Paint the picture of houston. We are seeing stories of oklahoma, north dakota absolutely devastated by this price destruction. What does houston talk about these days . Regina clearly, yesterday was historic an unprecedented. We have never seen oil go negative. To go so far negative, 37. It is also important to recognize who really suffered yesterday. I believe the hedgers and the speculators are the ones that took a bath yesterday. Those in the oil patch that could provide physical delivery and had storage options, we made a good bit of money, made some good bets. Clearly, it is devastating. Separating the Global Economic meltdown with the u. S. Economic meltdown with the oil patch meltdown, who is to say what is the biggest driver. But it is devastating for the country. Vonnie what are banks and other lenders doing . Are they being lenient or are they trying to get a read on who will survive this and who will not, and cutting their losses . Regina you hit the nail on the head, it is trying to figure out who can survive. Those that have strong Balance Sheets and can survive, your average bank doesnt want to own the keys to producing wells in the permian. Those that cannot survive me to wash out sooner rather than later, and that will help to ease some of the oversupply rehab, the glut of oil in the market. We do need to let the free market work. At the same time, we have states and the administration looking at things they might be able to do. Frankly, unprecedented times require unprecedented measures from governments and agencies to backstop the market. Vonnie the Texas Railroad commission mulling a production quota. One commissioner for it, others abstaining. What would be the right decision, given our previous guest said it would not make a difference to companies anyways. Happenediven what yesterday, the pressure will increase on perhaps trying to do something to create a backstop. The permian is quite prolific in its production. Producers want the flexibility to make choices about where they curtail and where they dont. Some of the larger ones that have access to capital and liquidity, operate in other basins, want that flexibility. But you have a number of small producers, mom and pop type organizations that are strong voting blocs. That is what the administration is reacting to. There are a number of strong voting bases in texas that are advocating taking action. Vonnie what would you bet on, if you were advising people, how well the industry look in three months time . Regina i have a betting person. Sadly, i am pretty bearish right now. The demand distraction will take a long time to wind through. We have seen changes in traffic patterns, consumer behavior, airline travel, travel and leisure. That will not recover for a long time. In addition to that, we have this oversupply building. Opec has decided to cut. That does not take effect until may. Most estimates are demand 30truction of 25 million to Million Barrels a day, so we have a delta of around 15 Million Barrels a day globally. That starts to add up. If it is a 60day outage, almost a billion barrels. When does that supply come out of the market . You dont see that come into balance until well into 2021. I think it will be a tough, tough road for the next 12, 18 months for our industry. Those that have strong Balance Sheets, access to liquidity will be able to survive, but it will be a rough 12 to 18 months. Vonnie we will talk to you in the meantime so you can guide us through. Thank you, regina mayor. Coming up, texas considers imposing opecstyle production limits. We will speak with Railroad Commissioner ryan sitton. This is bloomberg. Vonnie this is Bloomberg Markets. Im vonnie quinn. Texas regulators opted to put off a decision on whether to impose oil quotas. Annmarie hordern is standing by with a major voice in that decision. I am standing by with commissioner ryan sitton. You are just off of that call. I know you are in favor of going for a vote to postpone, but what will it take for texas to consider ratcheting back reduction . We had negative oil prices yesterday. The next contract is trading at 11 a barrel. What will it take for texas to do this in a manner where we will probably have shutins regardless . Ryan frankly, your first question, what does it take to consider it . We are considering it. The next question is if it gets done. The lower the prices, the more the more step down in the industry, you can say is exactly by the Railroad Commission was given the power by the legislature. Annmarie so what legal challenges could you face . That is the concern of other commissioners. It is mandated for the Texas Railroad commission to make sure you are not wasting away the oil in the state. What are the legal challenges they are worried about . Frankly, i dont think there any significant legal challenges. That is a normal political concern. I dont want to do something that might have anuance about it that is wrong. We have decades of history doing this, a lot of latitude in how we do it. I think there are no legal real challenges that will slow us down. Annmarie you talked about mexico, opec, canada, wanting to see more cuts across the board. Opec is already cutting, they had an urgent call today. Mexico President Trump himself said that the u. S. Would thatup for mexicos slack, they cannot cut. Canada is in an interesting situation. Have you gotten any verbal commitments from anyone about cuts alongside texas . We have got no formal commitments, but i have talked to my counterparts in alberta, new mexico, and other states. Are saying, they ever producers recognize the challenge. We recognize we have to do something. Waiting onas is this, laying the groundwork for a million. We are looking for another four million. I think that gives people the impetus to do it. I think we can move the ball if we lead. Annmarie can you do something together, or would texas have to come out first . Are you looking to do Something Like we saw the g20 Energy Ministers meeting, something similar to that may be the side of the atlantic . Ryan that is why i propose the solution the way i did. We would vote on cuts. Those cuts would go into effect june 1, only if others cut. It would allow us, show that we codifying, allow us to the formal number. However, it still puts the it is on others to join us. Then it is up to me, leaders in texas, to get other states to take action. As you watch the numbers build, the focus goes on to those that have not cut. If north dakota makes a move, oklahoma, and then the federal government does something to limit offshore production you will see those numbers come on thelist, all going toward total number that texas is waiting on. Annmarie President Trump says they are working on plans to help the u. S. Oil industry. We could potentially see tariffs on imports. What does washington need to do in response to this market collapse . Ryan there is a philosophical issue. In the recent stimulus package passed, there was a portion devoted to the federal government buying up crude oil and filling up our Strategic Petroleum reserves. That was not a bailout for the oil industry, just a chance for the federal government to make money, and still got killed. People on the left decided we dont want to prop up oil and gas. Aoc, the congresswoman from new york, tweeted a sarcastic salm, that she was glad to see the oil industry go down. Until leaders on both sides of the aisle say without strength and energy, every single one of our industries suffers, then it is hard to get a deal done. It is time for the people that were antioil and gas, because it was politically convenient for so long to get off of that train. If america is starving for energy and prices are double what they are today, everyone one of them should be voted out of office. Then we have to look at deals to support this vital piece of the american economy. Annmarie i think the congresswoman actually deleted that tweet. They were asking about the future of energy demand. How much do you see them and lost . Where are we on storage . Goldman says cushing will be filled by may. Ryan i will speak to the supply. We run some models in my office. We have 30 Million Barrels a day that the world is oversupplied right now. That is before the opec cuts come into effect the next few weeks. Storage is up around the world. I agree with that number. The first or second week of may, there will be no excess capacity in cushing. When that happens, that means a producer can only produce what can be consumed now. Some estimates are that the u. S. Refining network is only running 14 Million Barrels a day. Exports have dropped. Annmarie we are going to have to leave it there, ryan. We will speak to him in may when we finally get that vote. Amanda welcome to bloomberg im amanda lang in toronto. Shery im shery ahn in new york. We are joined by our bloomberg and Bnn Bloomberg audiences. Here are the top stories we are following from around the world. Stocks plunging it as a fresh round risk aversion grips the markets. 500 extending mondays losses and sinking more than 3 at session lows. This as the meltdown in the oil markets accelerates a crash into vti crude futures extending beyond expiring contracts as opec ministers hold an impromptu call and President Trump pledges aid for the oil industry. Confirmed cases of the coronavirus topping 2. 5 million worldwide. We discussed the response to the pandemic with United NationsGeneral Assembly president tijjani muhammadbande and former u. S. Ambassador bill richardson. Amanda lets get a quick check on those major averages. They are moving lower today. Pricing in part of the equation of what is happening with the price of oil, historic drop in futures. We are seeing that extend into the june contract. We are seeing markets pricing in weakness in the economy that is driving the drop in demand. 500, tech is leading the way down, down 4 . Energy is actually the best performing in the energy s p 500. Big tech names are the ones we are watching, including those that have been doing well. Nvidia is down 6 . Netflix reports after the bell. The real story today along with earnings is the repricing based on what is driving global oil demand. There is word today from President Trump in the form of a tweet that says there may be support coming for u. S. Producers. The president tweeting that he will be recommending that there fundse form of support, made available so that these important jobs can be secured long into the future. That would have been unheard of not too long ago. Halff,ome now antoine former chief oil analyst with the iea. Lets start there. Is it a good idea . We dont know what form it would take, but would it be a good idea to support producers here in the u. S. . Antoine its a complicated question. No question, the low price is causing pain among the companies, municipalities, companies operating, those areas depending on oil revenues. On the other hand, it is important to let the market do the price signal trigger the kind of changes in the industry that the industry will eventually need to survive and emerge stronger from this crisis. Productionooks like cuts will be the only answer to stem this oil crash. At the same time, the question is, where exactly do you need those cuts . We know that shale and saudi supplies can bounce back faster. Antoine we are seeing cuts being implemented. Opecplus agreement, g20 declaration, and the idea of production cuts and other productions. We have also seen the invisible hand of the market at work, clear signs of reduction in activity, particularly in the u. S. Shale patch. We monitor this using satellite imaging, geolocation data. Drop inseen a dramatic the shale basin. There are no signs that the reduction is coming. In the u. S. , the shale industry is very flexible. There will be some restructuring in the market, some business failures. But as a whole, we come out stronger in the end. Areas in production are not going to do as well. Canada is at risk. The u. S. Is insular, remote. They are at a disadvantage when it comes to Storage Capacity and markets. But production is also much more difficult to shut down without causing Severe Damage longterm. Start upe difficult to once it is shut down. Amanda some of the problems we are seeing are tied to the duration of the current recession. What is your expectation for how we recover out of it . To your point, we have landlocked oil and the u. S. And canada. But on the other side of this, do we see demand pick back up to what we may call normal levels . Antoine it is anyones guess. We still dont know how the coronavirus will spread. Uncertainty about the health response. Flux. Litical arena is in consensus is moving on these issues. Circumstances, a low price would be a stimulus for the economy. We used to say the cure for a low price is a low price. In 2009, low prices once we start getting out of lockdown, the low prices will help the recovery, but we dont know what shape it will take, whether it is a u, l, w. What theont know longterm implications will be on consumption. Flying toe continue longhaul destinations, business meetings . Or will they take their car in be insulated from others rather than taking mass transit . There will probably be longterm effects on Consumer Habits which we can only guess right now. Shery what is the risk of a vicious cycle here . We talk about the recession crashing oil, but at the same time, we have so many highpaying jobs in the sector, this could worsen the ongoing recession. Is it really justified that the government steps in and tried to put a Circuit Breaker here . Antoine there is a risk to it, no doubt. In the u. S. And canada, you have producers,very large so the concentrations are mixed. The government has to balance different priorities and situations. The risk of subsidizing the industry is that you really interfere with Market Forces and presents the restructuring and improvements and the various degrees of adjustments that are needed and should come through in order for the industry to come out of this and really make lemonade out of lemons, improving its operations, lowering its operating cost. Shery antoine halff, thank you very much. Lets get a check on the bloomberg first word news. Mark crumpton has more. Mark italy says the number of new virus infections is almost equal to the number of people who have recovered. This comes as the Prime Minister is drawing up a plan to cautiously pulled a country from a nationwide lockdown. The containment measures shutter all nonessential businesses, ban movement within the country and all but confine people to their homes except for buying food, going to work, and seeking medical help. Italy has had more than 183,000 confirmed coronavirus cases. The United NationsGeneral Assembly is demanding Global Action to step up the development of and access to medicines, vaccines, and agreement to battle the coronavirus pandemic. It is the second resolution on covid19 approved by the world body. On april 2, the u. N. General assembly approved a resolution calling for International Cooperation to contain and defeat the virus. President trumps boldest move yet on immigration. He issued an executive order temporarily suspending it. Saidlatenight tweet, he it was needed to contain the coronavirus. He also said it would protect american jobs. No word on how long the suspension would last or who would be affected. Global news 24 hours a day, onair, and on quicktake by bloomberg, powered by more than 2700 journalists and analysts in over 120 countries. Im mark crumpton. This is bloomberg. Shery this is Bloomberg Markets. Im shery ahn in new york. Claimsxpects a surge in following the pandemic. Alix steel spoke with the u. S. President. People whoa group of a playbook for our capital and liquidity. We came out of 2019 wellcapitalized, we are working to preserve our invested assets. We are drawn off of various models, pandemic scenarios to anticipate claims risk to our capital position. We are modeling our premium persistency scenarios. We feel we have the adequate stress testing. Preparingint, we are for what we believe will be coming our way, which is an increase in clients. In terms of the supplemental policies, as people seek less medical care to avoid coming into contact with the virus, how do you see demand playing up for that . If i dont get treatment for something, what does that mean for your bottom line . One of the things that we know it, unlike in other industries, from a health care perspective, you have people delaying going in and seeking treatment. The delay of seeking treatment only exacerbates acute illness. Is, ascern we have people delay getting treatment because they are afraid to go to for fear of the covid19 virus, that they will then have more acute symptoms and then had to present to the hospital in other ways. We believe our claims will start coming in as people start to get more comfortable with going to the hospitals, have those acute situations. Alix on the flipside, we are seeing mass unemployment, claims of 22 Million People filed for jobless claims over the last few weeks. Are you expecting and preparing for cases where people cannot pay their premiums . Teresa absolutely. One of the things we have done from a policyholder perspective, first of all, we make sure they understand what their benefits are. Know we have hospital plans, i see you plans, shortterm disability plans. We try to make sure our policy holders understand what they purchased, how to use them. The other thing is we are providing telemedicine, making sure telemedicine is utilized the same way as an in person visit to the doctor or Health Care Provider is looked at. One of the things that we try to do is make sure our policyholders understand their coverage. That they have what they need in order to deal with their specific circumstances. Alix how do you deal with that, though, in terms of looking at the losses you may have to take, the payouts you will have to take. You have to modeling business. How will you do that when you dont know which premiums will be paid, etc. . Teresa we model various scenarios. The thing with our insurance, we make sure we are putting up the appropriate reserves. We expect that we are going to pay those benefits. Ry that was to reason why teresa white with alix steel. The u. N. General assembly has signed a resolution calling for the rapid production of vaccines in medical equipment to fight the pandemic. Joining us now on the phone is you and general president tijjani muhammadbande. The resolution, the second one on the pandemic, not legally binding but still reflecting world opinion. What do member nations want to do in order to fight this pandemic . Thank you very much for having me. What is important is to continue nationscooperation of and other entities to deal with the pandemic in a coordinated way. One, to send the message that this is a global problem. All of usthat brings onboard is one to work for. Nations, thed resolution is to remind us about the connected world, our need to work together. This one deals in particular with the issue of medicines and vaccines. Received. N well it is the way we want to proceed. This is the reason why the United Nations, the secretarygeneral has done a lot reminding us about our connectedness on many things. This one is related to vaccines. Shery President Trump suspended funding to the who, and at the same time, not blocking this resolution asking the u. N. To work with the who. What is your take on this . Assembly, we are looking at any means which countries can cooperate, any effort to allow to cooperate, and to join in that cooperation is important. Whatever effort that will continue to add should be done. As an assembly, we will be working with everyone. That is our approach. We are glad we have gotten this but we wouldort, also like countries and companies and other entities to work with us in getting to the end of this as quickly as possible. Obviously, it will be seen as a good sign that this the level exists, but of Global Cooperation was in question before. A question about whether we have the right cooperative spirit now . Do you think there is enough today . E action going on we are seeing some governments looking inward now. Tijjani certain statements are made here and there for whatever reason. That therepreciates is no National Solution to this problem, that is why it is defined as a pandemic. There have been models of cooperation in the past. As we look at us the models, refine them. Never in history have we been so interconnected. The ability to travel, do things together. Ultimately, it is just a reminder that we have to work together. We do have these jongun sir, that kim may be in great condition, questions around succession there. As your body thought about that, is there a plan if that is the case . Tijjani that is not really an issue to comment on. Countries decide, whatever is the case, we will have to listen to what countries are doing. At the United Nations, we will decideinternally how to the transition, if one is needed. For now, we hope whatever the case, we continue to work not only independently, but around the world. This is the key. Especially in a period of this wed of pandemic, i do think need everyone. That is where we stand. 42. 5 trillion dollars to fight the pandemic and emerging economies that are facing a financing get. We already see this crash in oil prices. Developingt many economies rely greatly on Oil Production or other commodities. Giveng could the hit be the ongoing pandemic, and now the oil crash . I think the reality of the connections are significant in relation to the pandemic. This is happening not in isolation. It is happening because of the pandemic. The sooner we can deal with them pandemic, the better. Not only for the price of oil, but other goods. That is why this emergency, whatever funds are available to support returning to some normalcy, whatever that may be, as quickly as possible, is useful. There is hardly any travel going on. Transportation is an issue. Every department of life has been transformed by the pandemic. We want to use whatever means available to us to push for cooperation, creativity, to get us to turn the corner. Oil price collapse has been a big issue for many countries. It is an issue also related to production, related to the virus. That hope, of course, measures are being undertaken and succeed. Things before the crisis have become more urgent. Hopefully we can turn the corner the government fill the gaps in financing. It has been a big issue. It is really a challenge. Cooperation frame of cooperation is really important, key to global stability and sustainability. We are focused on this. Amanda we need to leave it there. Appreciate your time today, tijjani muhammadbande. President of the u. N. General assembly. Thank you so much for that. We are joining david westin in conversation with former Energy Secretary bill richardson. Not responded to our negotiating efforts. It will become a tense situation, especially if there is excess session issue. I dont inc. Kim jongun is sick to the point where there is danger he will leave office. But i do think the concern about his health is quite serious. David what does this mean for the president of south korea, moon jaein, who has invested quite a bit in that relationship . Bill his popularity has declined. He invested a lot in this relationship, the relationship between north and south korea on Economic Issues is virtually nonexistent. He banked on kim jongun and President Trump having a solid relationship and progress and that has not happened. Politically, the president of south korea is hurting on this main geopolitical issue which he sticks his campaign on, and that is efforts to improve relations with north korea. David as did President Trump. He had some very positive thing to say about north korea, the possibility of emerging. Having looked back on it now, and we all consumed with the coronavirus crisis, but looking back on north korea, did this gambit by President Trump essentially come up short . Credits, but i give him for reaching out with north korea. The situation is more stable in the peninsula than it has before. But we have not advanced in negotiations, to get north korea to denuclearize. The North Koreans want a lifting of sanctions but they were not serious about denuclearizing. I think we made a mistake in expecting too much. No more summits with north korea. Sounds like kim jongun is not in any shape for a summit at the moment. Thank you, ambassador bill richardson, former governor of new mexico. That will do it for balance of power for today, having covered a fair amount from oil to immigration to north korea. Shery you have been listening to david westin with bill richardson. From new york and toronto, this is bloomberg. Nowadays you do more from home than ever before. The xfinity my account app puts you in control with Digital Tools to give you the help you need when you need it. Get fast and easy answers with personalized help 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Change your wifi password to a phrase thats easy to remember. Even troubleshoot 24yourervices on your own. Eek. Were working to make things a little easier for everyone. Download the xfinity my account app today. Scarlet it is to walk in new york, 7 00 p. M. In londonscarlet . I am scarlet fu. Romaine i am Romaine Bostick and this is Bloomberg Markets the close. Looking at the markets, a little bit of risk aversion creeping back in. The s p 500 down almost 3 on the day. You see buying in the treasury market. Iteurope yesterday, entered a technical bull market. That has now retreated significantly. All this tied to the oil market. Yesterday, it was a technical issue that rolled from the may to the june contract. If you look at the june contract, it is indicating now it is a lot more than a technical issue. This is a supply and demand issue. Trading atntract now 9 a barrel in new york