Price Of Oil Fuels Inflation, But Shows Economy Is Bouncing Back

Price Of Oil Fuels Inflation, But Shows Economy Is Bouncing Back

A man puts gas in his car on January 8, 2010 in Pasadena, California. The price of crude is up 12 ... [+] percent in the past month to about $82. 88 a barrel. If one has any doubt that commodity markets are cyclical, they need only look at what's been happening with oil prices. In April 2020, when the economy had just begun to feel the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, crude oil briefly traded at negative prices as demand plummeted while supply increased. A year and a half later, on October 4, 2021, The New York Times ran a headline noting "Oil prices hit seven-year high" at ~$78/barrel. Then, in January 2022, The Wall Street Journal included a headline with the same six words as oil prices topped over $85/barrel and thereby hit their highest level since the 2014 shale-induced oil crash. Several factors have fueled the recent rise in oil prices, including geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and Russia, as well as tight supply. The oil market is probably the biggest indicator of how rapidly inflation is coming to the fore, but there are signs in other sectors too. Even though they may not be back