Fuel

Oil surged the most ever in New York as the U.S. president said he could get involved in the standoff between Saudi Arabia and Russia that has rocked crude markets.

Economists are warning that the sudden halt of business activity in the United States caused by the COVID-19 virus will take a serious toll on the economy in the months ahead, and may send the country into a recession.

Most travel centers and truck stops nationwide are remaining open during the coronavirus pandemic but operate with restrictions ranging from disallowing sit-down food service to practicing social distancing precautions.

Oil tankers are starting to drop anchor as traders start deploying the vessels to keep barrels at sea in the wake of the price plunge.

The latest collapse in oil prices has put in play a lucrative trade to store crude at sea, reviving memories of the 2008-09 recession when millions of barrels were kept on the world’s oceans.

New York, New Jersey and Connecticut have teamed up to institute restrictions on social gathering places. Trucking Association of New York President Kendra Hems said it still is too early to tell what the restrictions’ impacts on the industry will be.

The nationwide average price of diesel fuel declined by 8 cents per gallon March 16, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Oil companies are being forced to pay exorbitant prices for oil tankers as shipowners book vessels for storage and Saudi Arabia snaps up ships as it prepares to flood the market with crude.

Oil’s spectacular collapse deepened as widening global efforts to fight the spread of the coronavirus looked set to trigger the most severe contraction in annual oil demand in history.

President Donald Trump ordered U.S. energy officials to purchase “large amounts” of oil to fill up the nation’s emergency reserve after the biggest price crash in a generation.