December 12

12/12 - It’s a holiday miracle! Just in time for the peak shopping season, crude oil and gasoline prices have plummeted – giving inflation-weary consumers a welcome reprieve. WTI crude oil hit a 2022 low at $71.02 per barrel on Friday (12/9). Gasoline prices at $3.28 per gallon (AAA national average) are now below a year ago, down from $3.79 per gallon just a month ago, and light-years below the high of $5.01 in June. So, what’s changed fundamentally? Not much. Reduced Russian supplies and OPEC’s unwillingness/inability to increase output have been pushing oil prices higher since spring. Offsetting that, China’s Covid lockdowns reduced their oil demand by as much as 1M barrels per day. Add in fears of an impending global recession and traders became bearish on oil prices. For more energy analysis, check out our monthly Commodity Update that will be released midday on Monday (12/12).