Oil prices suffered one of the largest ever one-day plunges, crashing more than 11% on Black Friday as a new coronavirus strain sparked fears that renewed lockdowns will hurt global demand. The crash, the 7th largest ever for Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, may prompt the OPEC+ cartel to re-consider its policy when it meets next week, with the group increasingly leaning toward pausing its output hikes. The sell-off was amplified by low liquidity on a festive day in the U.S., the breach of several technical supports and Wall Street banks rushing to dump oil futures to protect themselves against positions in the options market. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] The development apparently wrong-footed many in the oil market who had been comforted by low inventory levels and demand that had rebounded to 2019 levels, said Rebecca Babin, senior energy trader at CIBC Private Wealth Management. “It was a lack of downside that had us continuing to think nothing bad could happen,” she said.