Crude oil is the energy commodity that powers the world. The price of oil tends to rise during periods of economic expansion and fall when the global economy contracts. The United States is the wealthiest nation on the earth, and China is the most populous country. Therefore, the trade war between the US and China has weighed on the demand side of the fundamental equation for the energy commodity.
The path of least resistance for the price of crude oil is a complicated equation that takes supply, demand, economics, and geopolitics into account. Over recent