The canary in the coalmine of an increasingly desperate energy industry just croaked. With “unusual timing” and at “distressed prices,” Reuters reports that Phillips 66 – the major US refiner owned by Warren Buffett – dumped crude oil for immediate delivery into Cushing storage tonight. This sparked heavy selling of the front-month WTI contract (to a $26 handle) and crashed the 1st-2nd month spread to 5 year lows.