Oil Prices Are Falling. Here’s Where That Could Spell Trouble.
New York TimesMAY 12
OPEC+ Output Hike Drops Oil Prices Below $60 Per Barrel
Above: An attendant refuels a truck with diesel at a PT Pertamina gas station in Jakarta, Indonesia on Nov. 16, 2021. Image copyright: Dimas Ardian/Contributor/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The Spin
Establishment-critical narrative
Plummeting oil prices — which were once America's economic windfall — now herald impending doom. As a net exporter, the United States bleeds revenue with every dollar drop, while energy companies slash investments and jobs. This isn't cheap gas; it's the canary gasping in the economic coal mine as a harbinger of a recession that threatens millions of livelihoods across a transformed energy landscape.
Pro-establishment narrative
Falling oil prices, accelerated by global trade tensions, are actually dealing a heavy blow to Russia's economy. As crude dips below profitability for Siberian fields, Moscow's war chest shrinks. This sustained pressure on oil revenue strikes at the heart of Russia's ability to finance its aggression — a quiet but potent strategic victory that benefits U.S. security.
Narrative C
OPEC, once the unassailable guardian of high oil prices, is now deliberately flooding markets with crude, sacrificing immediate profits in a calculated chess move. Their gambit — appease Trump's demands while sending a ruthless warning to overproducing members like Russia. This is petroleum politics at its most brutal — flexing market power while masquerading behind "healthy market fundamentals."