Oil finished 2022 briefly topping $80/barrel, then started 2023 just under that mark. Early in January, prices quickly fell toward the low $70’s per barrel. The decline was mainly attributable to concerns about global oil demand as China struggled with surging Covid cases. In addition, a mild start to the winter season and economic recession fears were among other reasons

Oil spent most of December in the $70s per barrel even with OPEC’s decision to stick with their 2 million barrels per day cut established in October. Falling oil prices created some extremely high retail margins for both diesel and gas as retail stations were slow to lower their pump prices matching the market. The following graph shows the daily

Oil prices climbed back to the $90/barrel range briefly in November before quickly falling back to just above $80/barrel by the end of the month. With tight supply and OPEC+ announcing a production cut last month, all signs pointed to prices rising. Just more proof that it’s virtually impossible to know exactly where fuel prices are going to end up!

After bottoming out at about $76/barrel in September, oil prices turned upward in October. OPEC+ met and announced supply cuts of 2M barrels per day which resulted in oil prices passing $90/barrel in early October. The following graph shows the daily price movements over the past three months: It’s pretty evident that OPEC+ would prefer to keep oil prices as

Oil prices continue to drop, falling below $80/barrel in September. As we close out the summer and move into fall, the story has not changed. There are still fears of a global recession and demand in China has not increased due to their COVID lockdown. The following graph shows the daily price movements over the past three months: OPEC+ met

Oil and fuel prices extended their downturn from July. Oil dropped below $87/barrel in August, which is the lowest we’ve seen since the end of January. Demand destruction and global economic worries continue to lead the way in causes for the fuel market to cascade. The following graph shows the daily price movements over the past three months: It has

Oil and fuel prices continued their decline from June into July. Oil dropped below $100/barrel for the first time since May, which was brief when that occurred. This month, oil prices have spent more time below $100 than above, which has resulted in fuel prices cooling from their record highs at the pump. The following graph shows the daily price

Oil prices extended their climb from the end of May into June until they hit a ceiling (for now) at $122/barrel. Diesel and gas prices continue to hit record highs for both products at the pump. Investment banks such as Goldman Sachs have floated the idea of oil reaching $150/barrel before the end of 2022. The following graph shows the

Since the beginning of April and a brief dip here or there for a day, oil prices have remained above $100/barrel. We have not seen a peak as high as we did in early March, yet in May, diesel and gas prices continued to hit all-time highs. The following graph shows the daily price movements over the past three months:

Compared to March, things were much calmer in April. Crude oil started around $100 and finished just under $105/barrel. About a month after oil hit it’s high of roughly $124/barrel, oil has dipped below $100 on three separate occasions. However, consumers have yet to feel relief at the pump as gas and diesel remain well over $4 and $5/gallon respectively.