Oil Prices Fall Below $100 on Weaker Economic Outlook

At midday, the price of West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, had dropped 7.8 percent to $96.01 a barrel, while Brent crude, the international standard, had declined 6.9 percent to $99.76. Brent briefly fell below $100 last week before rebounding. Oil prices surpassed $120 a barrel last winter after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Gasoline prices are also falling, though it takes a week or more for motorists to benefit from drops in the oil price. This is because petroleum travels through several stages of processing and marketing before it is sold at retail outlets.

The national average for regular gasoline dropped to $4.66 a gallon on Tuesday, nearly 2 cents below Monday’s price, according to the AAA motor club. Prices have fallen 14 cents over the last week and 35 cents over the last month, but are roughly $1.50 higher than a year ago.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/12/business/energy-environment/crude-oil-prices.html