The consensus in the oil market was nearly universal: The blame for higher oil prices rested largely with Trump. crude had recently spiked above $70 for the first time since 2014 after Trump restored sanctions on Iran. ![]() Trump laid off OPEC for nearly two months, until the week before the cartel's midyear Oil prices are too high, OPEC is at it again. June 13: Trump dodges blame for rising oil prices ![]() That same morning, Trump unleashed his first OPEC tweet of 2018. At an OPEC alliance meeting on April 20, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih poured cold water on the idea of lifting the production caps. Oil prices got another boost from reports that Saudi Arabia wanted international benchmark Brent crude prices to rise to $80-$100 a barrel. By April, the group had taken about 2.7 million barrels per day off the market, roughly 900,000 bpd more than it intended. Meanwhile, Houthi rebels in Yemen were launching missile strikes on neighboring Saudi Arabia, and the Saudi crown prince said the kingdom would obtain a nuclear weapon if Iran developed one.Īdding to supply concerns, the OPEC alliance's production began dropping rapidly, as output from Libya and Venezuela sank. The United States, United Kingdom and France also launched an airstrike on Syria that month, raising the prospect of direct conflict between Washington and Russia, Syria's main backer. That threatened to tighten oil supplies and exacerbate already simmering tensions in the Middle East. The cost of crude was on the rise throughout 2017, but the rally accelerated in the first half of 2018, spurred by a cocktail of geopolitics, OPEC policy and Trump's own agenda.īy April, it was becoming more certain that Trump would restore sanctions on Iran. The context is important and sets the scene for the rest of the year. With record amounts of Oil all over the place, including the fully loaded ships at sea, Oil prices are artificially Very High! No good and will not be accepted! April 20: Trump's opening shotĪfter a roughly 4½-year break from lambasting OPEC on Twitter, Trump came out swinging in Looks like OPEC is at it again. It was a decisive moment in oil market history that sparked one of the worst downturns on record. 28, the day after OPEC refused to cut production to drain a growing global oil glut. That claim would have been a stretch on any given day in 2014, but on this particular day, it was downright audacious. Yeah gasoline prices are on their way down since #Trump started making threats & demands of OPEC & others." In both, Trump quoted Twitter followers who said U.S gasoline prices were dropping because the real estate developer and reality TV star had put pressure on I think you are responsible for lower gas prices, only you had the balls to call out OPEC. But after September 2013, he mostly laid off OPEC, only tweeting about the cartel twice in 2014. He tweeted about the cartel more than 50 times and heaped criticism on Saudi Arabia in separate Twitter missives. OPEC was fertile ground for Trump between 20. The tweets followed a fairly predictable formula: OPEC is jacking up oil prices and President Barack Obama is sitting idly by while Americans get ripped off at gas stations across Oil is starting to rise again despite the horrible times. At the time, oil was trading around $100 a barrel, the Republican presidential primary was getting underway and Trump was preparing to release his political manifesto "Time to Get Tough: Make America Great Again!" Trump first began tweeting about OPEC in August 2011. After a meeting fraught with confusion, intrigue and infighting, OPEC and its allies agreed to a fresh round of production cuts this week, hoping to stem a collapse in oil prices that dragged Brent crude below $50 recently. Trump may deploy that strategy sooner than expected. If prices rise, he can blame OPEC," said Derek Brower, a director specializing in political risk at RS Energy Group. ![]() "It's a really low-cost strategy for him because if he gets oil prices down, he gets credit for it. A review of Trump's OPEC tweets this year shows the president often sought to blame the group just when his Iran policy was pushing up prices. Last year, the 15-nation cartel partnered with Russia and other exporters to keep 1.8 million barrels per day off the market.īut the other major policy driving oil prices this year is Trump's decision to restore sanctions on Iran, OPEC's third biggest producer. To be sure, OPEC has played a pivotal role in the oil price recovery since crude fell to 12½-year lows in 2016. Personal Loans for 670 Credit Score or Lower Personal Loans for 580 Credit Score or Lower Best Debt Consolidation Loans for Bad Credit
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