From a historical perspective, those U.S. crude oil futures that dropped below $43 a barrel this week did so for the first time since June of 2017. But on Wednesday, prices rebounded.
WTI up 4.19 to close at $46.72 – change 9.85%
Brent up 4.58 to close at $55.05 – change 9.07%
Natural gas up 0.05 to close at 3.51 – change 1.30%
Still, the recent decline has left investors as well as energy company executives growing a little nervous as the end of the year approaches. Some have stated in the past they could still make a profit at $40 a barrel.
The February West Texas Intermediate crude dropped 6.7% before reaching $42.53/bbl. Brent crude was at its weakest level since August 2017, slipping 4.6% before re aching $50.78/bbl.
How far have US crude prices tumbled? Forty percent since early October including an 11% drop last week.
It’s also why oil inventories have been pushing the limits at the Cushing hub where most of those massive storage tanks are full of crude.