Oil prices are something to watch with the current situation going on in the Middle East, and a notable drop off is being noticed to start the week.
Using data taken from oilprice.com, Western Canadian Select (WCS) fell the most. Prices on Saturday were listed at $61.49 a barrel, and after no movement on Monday, WCS finally updated on Tuesday for a total of $56.16 per barrel representing an 8 per cent drop.
After a nearly $4 dollar swing into the red for oil, prices dropped below $70 per barrel (USD) for both West Texas Intermediate crude and Brent crude. WTI entered Monday at $68.51 per barrel, closer to the $65 per barrel mark Tuesday morning. Brent crude entered Monday over $70 and is now down at $68.07 per barrel as of Tuesday morning.
Natural gas prices are also on the downtrend to start the week. Opening the week at around $3.90 per gigajoule, that price is now closer to $3.60 on Tuesday.
Another shift in the market could come if any disruptions come to the Strait of Hormuz located in the Middle East. According to oilprice.com the critical oil corridor sees an average daily flow of 21 million barrels, provides roughly 21 per cent of global petroleum liquid consumption, and accounts for about 25 per cent of the total liquid transit in the world.