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Tariffs are looming. But a lot of things are shaping oil prices this year.

Feb 4, 2025
Thanks to abundant supply and fairly flat demand, oil prices are forecast to fall — unless tariffs and geopolitics get in the way.
Despite abundant supply and flattening demand, oil prices have been volatile thanks to the threat of tariffs.
David McNew/Getty Images

Gas prices inch down as outlook appears stable

Jan 8, 2024
Gas is close to the $3 per gallon mark and has broken that in parts of the South.
In some parts of the South, gas prices are already below $3 a gallon. Above, a Chevron gas station in Austin, Texas.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images

OPEC+ agrees to boost oil production. But probably not enough to lower prices.

Aug 3, 2022
The small increase of 100,00 barrels a day may be a sign that the cartel thinks a recession is coming.
By pledging to increase output by just 100,000 barrels a day, OPEC could be implying that it expects demand for oil to fall. Above, OPEC's headquarters in Vienna.
Joe Klamar/AFP via Getty Images
"Increases in the crack spread that we've seen recently has been just supply and demand,” explained MIT professor Christopher Knittel.
George Frey/Getty Images

Why aren't oil companies drilling on their 9,000 land leases?

Aug 1, 2022
Shortages of labor and materials are making it hard to drill and maintain wells.
Shortages of steel pipe, sand and workers are cutting into potential oil production. Above, drilling rigs sit unused in Odessa, Texas.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Biden asks companies "setting those gas prices" to lower them. Can they?

Jun 23, 2022
Gas stations are usually separate from the big oil conglomerates whose names they carry. Owners are often individuals with some control over what you pay at their pumps — but not much.
Most gas stations are owned by individuals who pay to use the oil company's name.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

Energy stocks are now the belle of the Wall Street ball

May 24, 2022
Energy investors have profited as prices climbed. But companies hesitate to boost production, even though costs weigh on consumers.
The sun rises behind an oil storage facility in Cushing, Oklahoma. High energy prices raise costs across the economy.
Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

U.S. oil refiners' margins smash records, but few plan to build more plants

May 23, 2022
"Crack spreads" are higher than ever. But investors aren't interested in dumping money into fossil fuel expansion.
A "COVID hangover" is keeping the price of gas high, one expert says.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images

If oil prices are off their peaks, why are gas prices still rising?

"Gasoline prices and diesel prices are going to be very high through the summer, potentially higher than they are today," says Bloomberg's Javier Blas.
Scott Olson/Getty Images

Rising oil prices fuel a windfall for the industry

Apr 29, 2022
Outsize profits and stock buybacks are inviting more scrutiny from policymakers and environmental advocates.
Exxon Mobil reported quarterly profits of $5.5 billion and plans significant stock buybacks. Above, prices at a Southern California gas station in 2008.
David McNew/Getty Images