When you're not blaming coronavirus... blame oil. Oil prices plunged 24% Monday, hitting multi-year lows and notching their worst daily drop since 1991. US prices fell as much as 34% (that won't translate to lower gas prices as fast as we'd all like). The drama starts with OPEC, the powerhouse org of 14 oil-exporting countries:
But oil prices have been falling... because coronavirus has dented economic growth globally, causing the world to need less oil. So OPEC proposed a plan this weekend to cut production further in order to keep prices high. Now Russia and Saudi Arabia are the stars of a crude drama, worthy of its own reality show (Oiled and Spoiled? Sassy and Gassy?):
Terrible time for this beef... Oil demand is already low since coronavirus has slowed travel. Now, Russia and Saudi Arabia are in an oil-pumping contest to see who can drive prices even lower. This hurts the rapidly growing US shale industry (exactly Russia's goal). It's also bringing other sectors down — heavily-invested bank stocks are getting crushed. Long term though, lower oil prices benefit us car-drivers and many businesses.