The oil price continues its bumpy path and has dropped in fits and starts to the lowest point of the current year, which is still only a short way off. The last day the oil price was below that was more than two months ago.
At the time of writing (Wednesday afternoon, February 26), oil is trading at $72,87 per barrel. Last Thursday (February 20), it was $76,48. The oil price last fell below that level on December 23 (at $72,63 per barrel).
The current price drop is attributed to negotiations between the United States and Russia over the war with Ukraine. The beleaguered country itself is not involved, but Ukrainian President Zelensky hopes to visit US President Trump on Friday. The latter has set his sights on Ukrainian raw materials such as titanium, oil and gas in exchange for support and an agreement has reportedly already been reached on this. A peace treaty between Russia and Ukraine would also have a positive effect on Russian oil exports, which are now subject to sanctions.
Meanwhile, prices are being buoyed by news of 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada, and a lower 10% tariff on energy sources from Canada. Trump had put those on hold a month ago - after both countries made commitments on border security - but now wants to reimpose them on March 4. The US also tightened sanctions on Iranian oil exports this week. According to Reuters, new sanctions have been imposed on more than XNUMX traders, tankers and shipping companies.
In addition, weekly figures from the American Petroleum Institute (API) show that US oil inventories have decreased, while analysts expected an increase. It remains to be seen whether the OPEC+ countries will start to relax their production restrictions in April or continue for longer. Expectations vary and OPEC itself has not yet released anything about it.
Diesel price
Diesel currently costs €128,53 per 100 litres (from 4.000 litres). That is the lowest price since the start of 2025.