Oil prices briefly fall over 8%, below $100 dollars a barrel

Oil fell more than 8% to a low of $99.76 a barrel.

This means oil has lost nearly a quarter of its value since hitting a near-14-year high of $ 130.50 a barrel on March 6th. This is the first time that oil has traded below $100 since March 1st.

“This is a hell of a correction,” said Tom Kloza, global head of energy analysis at the Oil Price Information Analysis. Kloza still expects gasoline prices to rise this spring and summer as demand recovers, with the national average climbing to around $4.50 a gallon. “It’s just going to be a wild ride,” Kloza said.

Prior to March 1st, when oil prices were last below $100 per barrel, prices had risen steadily from about $70 per barrel in Nov. 2021. Analysts in some outlets predicted that “Americans could start to see some relief at the gas pump” due to falling oil prices.

On Sunday, polls from CBS News/YouGov and ABC News/Ipsos showed that most Americans supported banning Russian oil even if it made gas prices rise.

Ryan Fitzmaurice, energy strategist at Rabobank, similarly believes oil prices have not yet set their highest levels of the current cycle. “Ultimately, we’ll see new highs before all is said and done,” said Fitzmaurice. “Given how big and important Russia is, we will probably breach those all-time highs set in 2008.”