How coronavirus could permanently change our lives, according to Goldman Sachs

Sam Ro

Yahoo FinanceMarch 30, 2020, 6:58 PM GMT+7

As the coronavirus disrupts everyday life, experts are beginning to think about what changes will be temporary and what changes will be permanent.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced hundreds of millions of people around the world to distance themselves from each other, sending massive shockwaves through the global economy that we’re only beginning to understand.

One area that’s become particularly hard hit is the global oil industry, where prices have crashed and have called into question the long-term viability of many of the players. It’s a complicated industry where in some cases the costs of shutting down a well are so high that drillers are paying customers to take oil away.

“The global economy is a complex physical system with physical frictions, and energy sits near the top of that complexity,” Goldman Sachs’ Jeff Currie wrote in a note to clients on Monday. “It is impossible to shut down that much demand without large and persistent ramifications to supply.“

In his note, Currie explores the immense challenges the industry faces as it aims to balance supply and demand in a profitable way.

And Currie’s exploration of the long-term implications of the coronavirus pandemic gives us a glimpse into how the firm is thinking about what the world will look like once this crisis is behind us.

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Confirmed coronavirus cases are still on the rise. (David Foster/Yahoo Finance)