What moves the price of Brent oil
Supply, demand and fear. Almost every oil headline comes back to these three.
Brent is the world's main price for oil. It is named after a North Sea oil field, and most of the world's oil is priced against it. The price moves when traders change their minds about how much oil there will be, and how much the world will want.
Supply
Anything that takes oil off the market usually lifts the price: OPEC+ cutting output, a refinery fire, a pipeline attack, or sanctions on a big producer. Anything that adds oil usually pushes it down.
Demand
When the world economy is strong, factories, trucks and planes burn more fuel. Signs of a slowdown, especially in the US or China, usually push oil down.
Fear
About a fifth of the world's oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz. Trouble there can move the price within minutes, because traders pay more for oil today in case supply is cut tomorrow. That extra cost can vanish just as quickly when tensions ease.