The Trader Who Called The 2020 Oil Crisis

London, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 24th May, 2020 ) :French oil trader Pierre Andurand was catapulted into the spotlight this year after correctly betting that the deadly novel coronavirus would spark a sub-zero oil market collapse.

Andurand, the 43-year-old founder of London-based Andurand Capital who runs two multi-million-dollar funds, bet in February that the deadly COVID-19 outbreak could represent a rare "black swan" event that would send prices into reverse.

Two months later, in another remarkable call, the hedge-fund trader tweeted on the morning of April 20 that oil could turn negative in a perfect storm of evaporating demand, chronic oversupply and scarce storage.

- 'Negative prices are possible' - "There is no limit to the downside to prices when inventories and pipelines are full. Negative prices are possible," tweeted Andurand, who is based in Malta.

"I am not saying it will happen. If it does it would be very short lived.

But just be careful out there." Andurand, who was born in the southern French city of Aix-en-Provence and studied applied mathematics before attending the French business school HEC Paris, had just predicted the oil market's biggest-ever shock.

Just a few hours afterwards, New York light sweet crude nosedived into negative territory for the first time in history, plagued by demand-destroying coronavirus, a vast supply glut and a Saudi-Russian price war.

West Texas Intermediate crude hit a historic low of minus $40.32 per barrel on April 20 as sellers were forced to pay to offload the May contract amid scarce storage capacity.

That compared with around $60 a barrel at the start of this year.

London's Brent North Sea oil dived to a record-low $15.98 on April 22 but did not turn negative.

Andurand's funds have sky-rocketed in value on the back of his remarkable prediction, winning a three-digit percentage since the start of the year.