Oil prices drop to lowest in nearly three years just weeks before election

Oil fell to the lowest price in nearly three years on Friday.

Brent Crude, the international benchmark oil price , fell 2.2% to $71.07 a barrel as of Friday afternoon, according to Agence France-Presse .

The cost of oil has fluctuated in recent years, even hitting $71.84 in mid-June of 2023. But prices have not been this low since oil was $69.88 in early December of 2021.

One factor pulling down prices was a government report Friday that showed employment growth continuing to slow in August, raising doubts about the macroeconomy.

While the low prices have caused concern among producers, they have also alleviated pressure on consumers, who have faced high costs at pumps in recent years. As of Friday, AAA’s national average price for gas in the United States was $3.296, down from $3.803 one year ago.

Gas prices have long been considered a key point of reference for voters in how they view the economy. With the presidential election just eight weeks away, volatile oil and gas prices may continue to have a large influence on voters' decisions.

Industry experts warned this week that oil prices could drop to levels last seen in late 2020 and early 2021.

In a note obtained by Reuters , Citigroup Inc. predicted Brent could fall as low as $50 per barrel before seeing prices rebound again in 2025.

To prevent this, Citi urged global oil bloc OPEC+ to extend production outputs.

On Thursday, OPEC+ announced that eight member countries, including Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman, would roll back on its oil production, cutting 2.2 million barrels a day.

Initially, the group had planned to support an increase in oil production in October, pushing a hike of around 180,000 barrels daily.

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The cutbacks, driven by output disruptions in Libya from facility shutdowns and weakening demand from China , are expected to be phased out beginning in December.

The decision is thought to help increase costs, though Friday’s prices point to further volatility in the global oil market.