The Trump Administration will review solutions to the pain felt by US oil producers as oil prices fall to multi-year lows on Monday, according to Bloomberg.
Administration officials will present the President with options, which will include financial assistance to industries affected by the coronavirus and the oil price crash. These measures may include cash injections, tax credits, payroll tax cuts, and tariff reductions on specific Chinese imports, Bloomberg sources familiar with the matter said on Monday.
Oil prices fell sharply since on Monday after the OPEC+ talks fell apart on Friday and Saudi Arabia and Russia vowed to increase oil production in an oil price war that saw Saudi slash its OSP for April by between $6 and $8 per barrel.
By Monday afternoon, the WTI Crude grade had fallen 25.02% to $30.95—the largest oil price slide in years.
US oil companies were hit hard on Monday, with Chevron (-15.37%), Occidental (-52.01%), Apache (-53.86%), Marathon Oil (-46.81%), ExxonMobil (-12.22%), EOG Resources (-31.98%), ConocoPhillips (-24.87%), and Pioneer Natural Resource (-36.96%), all falling sharply on the day.
While US oil companies may be feeling the pinch, US consumers—mainly drivers—may be in for a real treat, with gasoline prices at the pump expected to fall. Average gasoline prices in the United States are already the lowest they’ve been in a year, according to Gas Buddy. Gasoline could dip below $2 per gallon in the coming weeks if the oil price war persists, Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis at Gas Buddy told USA Today.
And as gas prices go down, discretionary spending goes up—a positive development for the economy.
By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com
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