President Trump says oil prices fell ahead of US elections — The Hill
In the United States, President Donald Trump said during a campaign address on Monday that oil prices had fallen ahead of the midterm elections. As The Hill reports, he linked a possible further decline in oil prices to the situation surrounding Iran.
Price movements
In the afternoon, the price of the international benchmark Brent stood at $104 per barrel, down from $112 earlier that same day. The US benchmark WTI was trading at about $96 per barrel, compared with nearly $103 earlier.
Trump said that oil had fallen by $10 in one day and called it the biggest price drop in history. At the same time, the publication notes that modern history has seen far larger declines: during the COVID-19 pandemic, the price of oil briefly fell to about minus $38 per barrel on one day.
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The Iran factor and fuel prices
The decline in quotations came amid some positive signals regarding negotiations with Iran. Tehran said it could open the Strait of Hormuz if the United States meets certain conditions. At the same time, it is unclear whether Washington will agree to such conditions; officials there have also spoken about the possibility of new strikes on Iran after the elections.
The war has periodically led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, an important oil transportation route, as well as higher shipping costs even during periods when vessels were allowed to pass. Damage to oil infrastructure in this conflict and Russia's war against Ukraine have increased upward pressure on prices. If the decline in quotations persists, it could eventually affect the cost of gasoline and diesel, although such changes usually do not reach the retail market immediately.
According to AAA, the average price of gasoline in the United States on Monday was about $4.17 per gallon, $1.13 higher than a year earlier. Voter dissatisfaction with fuel costs, The Hill estimates, could become one of the important factors in the elections.
