A main benchmark for the price of oil fell negative for the first time ever this week. The decline — more than 300 percent in daily trading — raised fresh questions about the damage the coronavirus is having on the global economy.

What does it mean for oil prices to be negative?

A benchmark price for a barrel of oil to be delivered next month fell to -$37.63 on Monday, which means that sellers would have to pay someone that much to take it off their hands.

But that historic plunge was exacerbated by a quirk in how the oil markets work.

The negative price concerned only contracts for delivery of barrels in May that are traded on so-called futures markets. At the same time trading happens for May deliveries, people trade on contracts ending in June, in July and so on.

Demand for oil has collapsed in recent weeks as the coronavirus pandemic has devastated practically all corners of the economy, eliminating much of the need for fuel to ship goods, ride on airplanes or commute to work. Without a use for it, the world’s biggest producers — the United States is high on that list — are running out of places to store all the oil that companies have continued to pump out of the ground.