The financial world has been turned upside down by extraordinary events in recent years. First, there were negative interest rates, something that had never happened in 5,000 years of recorded history. Now it’s negative oil prices, a phenomenon that sparked headlines Monday far beyond financial news.
There are important differences between the two, however. Negative interest rates were imposed by central banks in Europe and Japan as part of their conduct of monetary policy. Oil, by contrast, trades in a relatively free market that, once again, is proving to be resistant to control by government-run cartels.
Randall W. Forsyth | Barrons