Fuel Hits Multi-Month Low as Delta Restrictions Rise

Today, oil prices fell due to new COVID-19 restrictions in China and much of Asia. This morning crude oil opened at $67.88, diesel at $2.0758, and gasoline at $2.2473. The price of oil this morning was the lowest in a three-week period. This comes along with Invest 94L forming into more of a threat to the Caribbean islands and the US Gulf Coast.

As the Delta variant continues to become more infectious than chickenpox, people worldwide are starting to feel the effects, especially at the pump. The Delta variant is severely disrupting the world’s second-largest oil consumer in China, heavily impacting the supply and demand chain. As of late, China has been canceling many of its flights in and out of the country and car and taxi arrangements in many of the cities across the country. Forty-six cities in China are considered very dangerous, with the government trying to control the variant before it gets out of hand. This morning, China reported 125 new COVID-19 cases, which is 96 people higher than on Sunday. Because of these cases, China is slowing down its export growth, which will severely impact the market unless they figure out a way to combat this problem.

Invest 94L has regained the attention of meteorologists as the low-pressure system has become a disturbance once again. Invest 94L is accompanied by heavy rain and storms that seem to be more patterned now, which has warranted the focus of experts. Because of the frequency and increasing intensity of the rain and thunderstorms, meteorologists say that Invest 94L could become a tropical depression by this afternoon or tonight. The storm remains several days away, but meteorologists will be tracking it and Invest 93L closely to see if they will present a threat to the US mainland.