We’re starting to sound like a broken record, but oil prices really haven’t moved that much over the past week or so.  Patrick DeHaan with Gasbuddy.com said a barrel of West Texas Crude has traded in the high-$60 to low-$70 range since Thanksgiving.  And he doesn’t expect oil prices to move much in the foreseeable future.

 

“We did see OPEC last week deciding to extend their oil production cuts through April," DeHaan noted.  "That was largely an unsurprising move.  OPEC has now delayed raising production several times as oil prices continue to struggle.”

 

DeHaan said OPEC’s decision was mainly due to questions circling around the U.S. as well as Chinese economies.

 

AAA predicted that Thanksgiving holiday travel would set a pre-pandemic record, with millions of Americans returning to the roadway and airways for the holiday.  Did that impact oil and fuel numbers?  DeHaan says no, adding gasoline demand was soft around Thanksgiving.

 

“And that's generally because while millions of Americans are traveling, a lot of that travel is all happening at the same time, whether Wednesday or Sunday.  Most Americans don't move a whole lot during the holiday and the corresponding weekend.  And so, it's typical that gasoline demand actually is relatively soft for Thanksgiving week.  That also holds true for Christmas as well.  These are not summer holidays.  We generally do see relatively weak demand, as Americans generally stay inside more for these types of holidays.”

 

 

If you have a story idea for the PNW Ag Network, call (509) 547-1618, or e-mail glenn.vaagen@townsquaremedia.com 

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