Today, oil prices extended their decline, with record low U.S. gasoline prices leading the energy complex lower, as the coronavirus pandemic crushes demand worldwide after travel and industrial activity contracted across the globe in a bid to stem the spread of the virus.

 Brent crude LCOc1 futures fell 47 cents to $26.51 a barrel, a 1.7% percent drop, by 1:26 p.m. ET (17:26 GMT). West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures for May delivery fell 4 cents, or 0.2%, to $22.59 a barrel.

Gasoline futures RBc1 in the United States, the world’s top consumer of the motor fuel, tumbled more than 20% to 46.74 cents a gallon, their lowest on record.

Both crude benchmarks have dropped for four straight weeks, with WTI slumping 29% last week, its steepest slide since the outset of the U.S./Iraq Gulf War in 1991.