Hopefully oil will get cheaper again!
At least that's what the big oil consumers say.
Not only the frequent drivers on the autobahn are meant, but also heads of state like Joe Biden in the USA and the leadership of the People's Republic of China.
They think the oil price is too high.
The United States has now announced that it will be the first country to bring 50 million 159-liter drums from its emergency reserve to the market.
Other countries are also considering tapping into their national oil reserves to take some pressure off the market.
The price is still around 100 percent higher than a year ago and is driving inflation to multi-year highs.
Daniel Mohr
Editor in the economy of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.
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The high prices have two effects. First: Many consumers think a moment longer about whether the current car journey really has to be and whether the room temperature in the living room shouldn't also be half a degree lower. Experts in the oil market put it a little harder: buyers are forced to lower demand for reasons of cost. Second, the high price is an incentive for many producers to produce more oil. Fracking in the USA is often only worthwhile from a price level of around 50 dollars per barrel of 159 liters. If the price is just under $ 80, as is currently the case, many start production. 500,000 more barrels a day are currently being produced in America. Next year, a further increase of 800,000 barrels is expected. In Norway, significantly more has recently been invested in expanding production capacities.And the OPEC oil cartel is also slowly increasing its production - from the point of view of major consumers: too slowly.
All in all, the International Energy Agency expects an oil surplus soon after 17 months of scarcity.
Accordingly, prices have recently fallen slightly.
It could be the trend reversal and soon make gasoline and heating oil more affordable.
If you have a little patience (and oil in the tank), you can probably fill up with cheaper heating oil in February than today.