Giving it away: US oil price plummets to negative for the first time

The price of a barrel of oil in the United States fell into negative territory for the first time in history overnight.

It means producers are paying buyers to take crude oil off their hands.

With the pandemic bringing the economy to a standstill, there is so much unused oil in America that energy companies have run out of room to store it.

And with nowhere to put the oil, no one wants a crude contract about to come due.

Commsec’s Steve Daghlian told 3AW that while the drop won’t be directly reflected at petrol stations in Australia, there are signs we will still see some savings at the bowser.

Ross and John reported a wide range of petrol prices in this morning, the cheapest being 82.9 cents at San Remo new Phillip Island, but at least one petrol station in Deer Park still charging more than 140 cents.

Click PLAY to hear Bob Tarlau give Ross and John the lowdown from the US

Click PLAY to hear callers update Ross and John on the price of petrol around them