Oil prices fell for the third consecutive session on Wednesday (18), with future indexes in the United States (USA) reaching the lowest rate in 17 years, with the announcement of travel restrictions and measures for social isolation, to try to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

Brent crude fell $ 1.05, or 3.65%, to $ 27.68 a barrel at 8:26 am (GMT). United States oil fell $ 1.61, or 5.97%, to $ 25.34 a barrel.

Earlier, Brent touched the lowest level since the beginning of 2016, at $ 27.56, while WTI even touched $ 25.06, the lowest level since the end of April 2003.

The last time oil in the United States reached that level was when the country invaded Iraq, and China had only just begun its rise as a global power that propelled oil consumption to record levels in the years that followed.

"The collapse in demand for oil due to the spread of the coronavirus appears to be getting bigger," Goldman Sachs said in a note, projecting that Brent could drop to as much as $ 20 a barrel in the second quarter, a level not seen since early 2002. .

The bank expects a contraction in demand of 8 million barrels per day at the end of March and an annual drop in 2020 of 1.1 million bpd, which it says would be the largest on record.