Crude oil prices continue to slide with surging production and weakening economic news. Key benchmarks are near to at a four year low, withWest Texas Intermediate (“WTI”) closing at $81.84, well below the $100 to $120 range reached between 2010 and 2012.
In fact, the drops have been startling, with WTI closing down $3.90, or 4.77% today alone, and other key benchmarks have not fared better. Until recently, Brent Crude Oil has traded significantly higher than WTI. Surging production and better transportation options have significantly whittled away at the typical $10 to $20 per barrel spread over the last several years. Today for example, Brent closed down $3.85 or 4.53% at $85.04.
While price drops are not unusual during periods of weak demand; this time however, it presents an interesting turn from decades of dependency on the political climate in the Middle East.
Read the full article on Forbes.