After their soaring at the beginning of the week, oil prices have come under significant pressure in the past few days.

On Thursday, the price of a barrel (159 liters) of North Sea Brent stabilized at around 73 dollars - a decrease of 6 percent compared to the most recent high on Tuesday morning.

The price of a barrel of the American West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is well below $ 72, after reaching $ 77 on Tuesday.

The dispute also moves the market within the group of 23 oil-producing countries combined in Opec +.

It's about the future funding policy, but also about the existence of the Opec cartel, since the rift runs between the dominant Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which are among the core members.

Recently, crude oil prices were also burdened by the strengthening US dollar.

If the rate of the American currency rises, this often weighs on short-term demand.

Oil is traded internationally in dollars, which is why the raw material becomes more expensive for many interested parties when the dollar rate rises.

One reason for the erratic price movements is that the consequences of the dispute are not clear.

On the one hand, the future crude oil supply could be too small to meet the growing demand.

In addition, according to the report by the American Petroleum Institute, oil stocks in the USA fell again by around 8 million barrels last week.

On the other hand, it is conceivable that the oil network Opec + will be damaged and that individual countries will no longer adhere to the common strategy of capped production.

In this case, the supply could increase significantly.

The prevailing contradiction fits in with the fact that inventories in the largest warehouse in Cushing, which is central to the American oil market, are said to have increased.

Saudi Arabia raised its selling prices for some of its customers on Tuesday.

The country has thus signaled its willingness to adhere to the Opec + agreement, according to the raw materials experts at Commerzbank.

"But some countries in the Alliance would rather increase their production as quickly as possible, also at the expense of the others."

Both rising and falling oil prices are conceivable in the medium term, but one thing is dominating the oil market at the moment: uncertainty.

And that has never been a good basis for buying, which explains recent price action, but which may not last.