Oil Prices Fall Below $100 as the U.S. and Iran Signal Openness to Peace Talks
U.S. crude tumbled 7.8 percent to $95.96 a barrel Monday afternoon — the kind of drop analysts say could pull pump prices down with it, in a county where the average is still near $6 a gallon.
Oil prices plunged Monday as the United States and Iran signaled openness to peace talks, with West Texas Intermediate crude, the U.S. benchmark, down 7.8 percent at $95.96 a barrel as of Monday afternoon at 1:03 p.m. Eastern, CNBC market data reported by the Daily Caller News Foundation and read in full this cycle. Brent crude, the global benchmark, was down 8.1 percent at $104.24 a barrel at the same time.
The drop reached the wholesale gasoline market the same day: wholesale gasoline prices fell 18 to 24 cents a gallon Monday, petroleum analyst Tom Kloza of Kloza Advisors said in a statement reported this cycle, and the national average could get close to $4 a gallon if those drops hold, he noted. Regular gasoline cost an average of $4.17 a gallon nationwide Monday, according to the American Automobile Association figures carried in the reporting — down from $4.40 a month earlier but up from $3.04 a year ago.
For Los Angeles County drivers, any relief would start from a much higher line: the county average fell to $5.977 on Sunday, its 30th drop in 31 days on AAA and Oil Price Information Service figures, and the Los Angeles-Long Beach metro average stood at $5.98 in the AAA-compiled figures current as of November 2 read this cycle. A sustained crude drop is the strongest downward pressure those averages have had in weeks.
The Energy Information Administration counsels patience on the timing: changes in crude oil prices do not necessarily translate into equivalent changes in retail gasoline prices, an EIA spokesperson said in the reporting read this cycle, and stations adjust gradually as inventory turns over. The agency's next Short-Term Energy Outlook is scheduled for November 10.
