Trade War Escalation Weighing On Oil Prices

A few moments after China announced retaliatory tariffs against the U.S., oil prices started trading lower. Oil prices were trading around $63 to start Monday, and dropped to $60 before noon Pacific.

What’s pushing prices lower? Dan McTeauge with GasBuddy.com said investors have one thing on their mind, the elevated trade war.

“If the United States and China extend their trade dispute and retaliate with tariffs then this is likely to lead to an escalated trade war which will cause a global economic slowdown, which of course is why traders are hedging their bets.”

McTeuage said he’s never seen anything like this. In 2014, OPEC tried to force oil prices lower, by flooding the market with oil, which sent prces down considerably.

“This is a very different circumstance. We’re now seeing oil trade about $10 a barrel less than it was this time last year, and yet, Iran is not selling as much oil, Venezuela is not selling as much oil, Libya is not selling as much oil, for a whole host of reasons. We are seeing a dramatic tightening of global supplies of oil, and at the same time, the prices are falling.”

What does that mean for diesel prices?

The national average for a gallon of diesel held steady this week at $3.10, Washington’s price held at $3.43, while Oregon’s price increased a penny to $3.30 a gallon.

Here are some of the lowest diesel prices we could find across the Inland Northwest: