There will be blood, but also great bargains as oil prices have tumbled to their lowest levels this year, with Brent crude dipping below $70 per barrel on Wednesday. The sharp decline is fueled by weak global demand, the end of summer, and potential production increases — particularly from Libya. This downturn has erased 2024’s gains, prompting uncertainty as traders speculate on OPEC+’s next move.

• The black liquid has dropped 20% from April highs and collapsed 30% since Jun. 2022’s peak.
• “With demand growth uncertain and [Libya’s] significant supply outages looking unlikely, all eyes are again on OPEC+,” notes a Rystad Energy analyst, adding that “overall bearishness will persist” until OPEC+ clarifies its strategy.

Forward-looking: Markets are skeptical of October’s planned increase of 2.2M daily barrels, which could further pressure oil prices. For consumers, GasBuddy’s head of petroleum analysis, Patrick De Haan, says, “As long as we don’t see a major hurricane head into the Gulf and the situation improves in the Middle East, the national average could fall below $3 [per gallon] in the next two months.” Though, as OPEC+ navigates this oily tightrope, it could leave the market slipping and sliding.