WTI Crude futures contracts set for May delivery has plummeted into the negative. This is completely unprecedented price action and a window into the demand collapse for oil across the US. As cars sit in garages and planes sit on runways, oil reserves have been filled with the brim, causing those holding the futures contracts that cannot take delivery to have to pay people to take the contracts off their hands.

A crash like this has many consequences, both positive and negative, but what will it mean for Boulder? Here are a few points that stand out:

• People can fill up their cars for nearly nothing, leaving more money in their pockets for other expenses
• Manufacturing costs decrease
• Investment in renewables becomes even more enticing
• Many people in the industry will lost their jobs
• Tax dollars in Colorado will decrease

What will be the other consequences? Only time will tell…

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