Oil prices today have stabilized. Previously we had an incentive for lower prices of oil due to the trade wars slowing economic development down, leading to less demand for oil. We also had a factor pushing the prices up, namely the disagreement between the United States and Iran mentioned yesterday. As a result, these two opposing factors ended up balancing one another.
The Brent crude reached $73.21, while the American light crude was at $68.34 per barrel.
The situation on the oil market continues to be volatile, however. OPEC member states and Russia are pumping more oil as of recently, and the United States is doing the same, but demand is decreasing globally. Yet if there is renewed pressure from the US on Iran and harsher sanctions against OPEC’s third largest oil exporting member, this could significantly shrink the available oil supply. Right now political factors are the top determinant for oil prices.