Tug of War Keeps Oil Prices Steady

Newton’s third law of motion states for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. That, is a good way to describe the tug of war taking place with oil prices. There are many indicators that should be moving oil prices higher, such as a strong global economy, strong demand, OPEC cutbacks. But looming out there is the ongoing trade war with China.

Dan McTeague with GasBuddy.com says increased rhetoric pushed oil prices down $10 a barrel in the past week.

“When concerns about the U.S./China and the ever increasing likelihood of even further tariffs and retaliation by China is likely to dominate at least for the foreseeable future, meaning I don’t see a breakout in oil or gasoline prices.”

McTeague said the trade war chokes oil prices, because of a lack of economic activity.

“Leads to global economic slowdown, leads to a recession and of course that just means subpar demand for fuel.”

As far as local diesel prices are concerned: