This month, oil prices dropped below $100 a barrel for the first time since April, according to Bloomberg.
Breaking down the news: In March, oil prices briefly peaked at $130 per barrel, according to CNBC, which was the highest price the market had seen in over a decade.
- In the first week of July, Reuters reported that oil prices had dipped below $100 — Brent crude at $99.10 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate crude at $95.78 per barrel.
- These prices are lower than the average prices were before Russia invaded Ukraine in February.
What are gas prices like? As of Thursday, the national average price per gallon of gas is more than 40 cents lower than it was a month ago.
- The nationwide average price for regular fuel prices hit a record high of $5.01 per gallon on June 14, according to AAA. Currently, the average price stands at $4.57 per gallon.
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Will gas prices get lower? Although fuel prices are lower than they were a few weeks ago, some experts are afraid that it could still be months or even years before fuel cools down to pre-pandemic prices.
- “The world has never witnessed such a major energy crisis in terms of its depth and its complexity,” said Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency, according to Bloomberg. “We might not have seen the worst of it yet — this is affecting the entire world.”
- As pandemic restrictions start to ease, the world is resuming life as it was before. On the other hand, refineries haven’t been able to produce enough oil to meet those demands.
- This tug between supply and demand could potentially maintain high fuel prices for the foreseeable future, according to Bloomberg.