At 8:45 a.m. Eastern Time, Brent crude oil was trading at $115.40 per barrel, down 85 cents from the previous morning and about $50.50 higher than a year earlier. Prices are driven mainly by supply and demand, as well as wars, recessions, sanctions, OPEC+ decisions and supply disruptions. A sharp rise in oil prices usually reaches consumers quickly at the gas pump, while declines tend to translate into slower reductions in gasoline prices. The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve serves as an emergency buffer to secure energy supplies and soften price spikes, but it is not a long-term solution. Oil and natural gas prices are also linked because higher oil prices can increase demand for natural gas when industries are able to substitute it for petroleum in certain operations.
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