Trump to buy oil for nation’s strategic reserves

Between the lines: Global oil markets are facing an unprecedented double whammy of too much oil and too little demand, the latter exacerbated by the coronavirus. The industry was tanking before the pandemic, and now this health crisis has accentuated all of the sector’s woes.

Flashback: Congress had been selling oil from the SPR in recent years, given it wanted money and we're awash in oil that lessened our sense of energy insecurity.

The intrigue: The historic drop in oil prices is leading to rock-bottom gasoline prices, which is good for drivers venturing out amid the coronavirus crisis.

What we’re hearing: The oil market’s response has been “appropriate restrained,” according to Ed Crooks, a Wood Mackenzie analyst and former Financial Times reporter. Global oil prices are up about 5% on the day.

Go deeper: The big picture on coronavirus and oil demand