Arguments between members of OPEC and Russia over how much production to cut in order to prop up the price of oil had the result of the price plummeting Monday morning. In response to Russia failing to cut production due to reduced demand, thanks to fears over the coronavirus, Saudi Arabia slashed it’s export prices on the weekend. This resulted in the price of oil taking the sharpest drop in nearly 30 years.

West Texas Intermediate prices fell as low as $27 a barrel before slightly recovering just before the markets opened. It appeared to stabilize, for the time being, around $31 a barrel. The resulting drop of $9 from Friday’s close was the biggest drop since the start of the First Gulf War in 1991.

The drop in the price of oil had a big impact on the Canadian dollar as well. The loonie fell by more than a cent, losing $0.0131 against the US dollar. The Canadian dollar opened up the week worth $0.7322 American.

Stock markets were also encountering problems. In the United States, the Dow Jones futures market lost more than 1200 points, the largest decline ever seen in one day. The TSX, which fell by 378 points on Friday, was expected to open down as well.

At the provincial level, the 2019-2020 budget was drawn up with a forecast price of WTI oil to be at $59.75 a barrel. In 2018-19, the forecasted price for budgeting was $58.18.

For every dollar in change in price, it can have upwards of a $15 million impact on provincial revenues. The drop seen Monday comes near the end of the fiscal year, which could help the province avoid too many issues from last year, however, the coming budget is expected to be delivered in the provincial legislature next Wednesday.