Oil prices dropped sharply on Wednesday, as European Brent crude fell below $100 per barrel for the first time since Oct.7.The move translated to a nearly $9 drop, or a more than 8% decline.
U.S.crude oil, or WTI, also slipped 8% to about $89.Relief for consumers may follow.
Oil’s fall could bring the national average price of gas down below $4 in the “days ahead,” said Patrick De Haan, analyst at GasBuddy.Prices moved lower as trading desks and energy experts watched closely for a sign that Tuesday’s midterm election results would pressure President Donald Trump into ending the Iran war without a major escalation.The war sent gasoline and diesel prices skyrocketing, making already-stubborn inflation worse for American consumers, farmers and business owners.“The next six weeks typically deliver one of the most hostile environments for higher gasoline and diesel prices,” said Tom Kloza, chief energy adviser to Gulf Oil, on social media.
“If the US or Iran don’t pursue ‘scorched earth’ policies in the Persian Gulf, we may see considerably lower prices by second half December.”On Wednesday morning, that average price was $4.12.That’s 39% higher than before the war with Iran started on Feb.
28, which snarled shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.On social media, Vice President JD Vance said the war is the reason the Republican Party suffered such steep losses in the midterm elections.“And any honest conversation about where we go from here must start there,” said Vance, who could be the GOP’s standard-bearer in the 2028 presidential election.Trump also said he realized the toll the war took on American consumers.A truck driver refuels a vehicle with diesel fuel at a Dysart's gas station in Ellsworth, Maine, on Monday.Graeme Sloan / Bloomberg via Getty“I think it’s the gasoline price,” Trump said Tuesday night on Fox News Channel as the first results became clear.
“People agree with what I’m doing on Iran, but they really p...