👉 Background: We all know the price of oil has been skyrocketing ever since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Western countries ended up cutting off one of the world’s largest producers of oil… And therefore a large part of the world’s supply.

👉  What happened: Now, there’s been a pretty big sell-off in oil and gas futures because investors are becoming concerned about a possible recession in 2023.

👉 What else: As a result, oil prices are now down under US$100 a barrel for the first time since May... because when the word 'recession' is dropped, often the oil barrels drop too.

What's the key learning?

💡Historically, we often see oil price jumps riiiiight before a recession. Get this: three of the most recent recessions in the US came after major spikes in oil prices. We're talkin' 1973, 1978 and 1990.

💡When you think about it, oil goes into everything. When the price of oil increases, it becomes much more expensive to buy, produce and transport things. This flows on to retailers who are then forced to raise prices.

💡Higher prices means less spending, higher interest rates and ultimately an economic slowdown... So, with oil prices booming so quickly this year,  we can see why investors have been a little spooked!

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