Operaciones con petróleo en Forex

What factors influence oil prices?

The dynamic of oil prices depends on several factors such as:

• Macroeconomics. The key factor here is the supply/demand ratio. Oil prices usually rise when the supply is low and the demand is high, and vise versa: crude oil is cheaper when high supply overrides low demand.
• Geopolitics. The major participants of the oil market are the companies, states and organizations extracting this commodity. One of the most famous is the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC. The developments in relations between this cartel’s members and non-OPEC states always have a significant impact on oil prices.
• Trading sentiment. As already mentioned, crude oil futures are quite popular. This asset attracts interest of many market players such as banks, financial institutions, brokerage firms, individual investors, day traders, and others. Therefore, the sentiment prevailing among these players often shapes the oil prices trend.