Two factors caused a 2% drop Wednesday in crude oil prices. The war against Iran and the near shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz through which most of the oil in the Middle East must past are the main factors.
The Trump White House sent a 15-point peace plan to Iran but the country, pounded by military attacks from the U.S. and Israel over the past four weeks, rejected it.
The idea that peace talks are underway caused Brent futures to fall $2.27 or 2.2% and settle at $102.22 a barrel.
West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell $2.03, or 2.2%, to settle at $90.32. Earlier in the session, Brent futures were down by as much as 7%.
President Trump has promised to hit Iran even harder if Tehran doesn’t accept the idea that it has been “defeated militarily.”
The second factor affecting prices was an increase of crude oil inventories in the U.S. by 6.9 million barrels during the week ending March 20. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported it brings the commercial stockpiles to 456.2 million barrels.
Natural gas prices did the opposite and rose on Wednesday, settling at $2.967 MMBtu with a gain of $0.024 or 0.82%.
Fuel prices across the U.S. remained somewhat steady, increasing one cent in the past day to an average of $3.98 per gallon of unleaded gasoline. Diesel fuel went up 2 cents to $5.36 per gallon, reported AAA.
Oklahoma’s averages of $3.26 for gas and $4.50 for diesel fuel were unchanged.
The impact of the war was felt by Oklahoma energy stocks. Nearly half experienced losses for the day. NGL Energy Partners dropped nearly 5% but Stardust Power had a robust 7% gain.
Alliance Resource Partners LP
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