# Oil plummets, on track for biggest weekly drop in 2019

> Oil prices plunged about 5% on Thursday as US-China trade tensions dampened the demand outlook. Crude benchmarks were on course for their biggest daily and weekly falls in six months. Weak US data and overfull US crude stockpiles added to the selloff.

- Date: 2019-05-23 · published 2019-05-23T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: trade · region Global · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/6604-oil-plummets-on-track-for-biggest-weekly-drop-in-2019
- Commodities: [Crude Oil (WTI)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/WTI.md), [Crude Oil (Brent)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/BRENT.md)

## Why it matters

Lower crude prices reduce energy costs and can weigh on biofuel margins and feed-grain demand sentiment. Escalating trade conflict also threatens agricultural export demand.

## Read by commodity

- WTI: bearish ▼
- BRENT: bearish ▼

## Linked price moves

| Commodity | Date | Window | Change % | z-score | Why linked |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| BRENT | 2019-05-23 | 1 | -5.0% | -3.5 | Directly describes the ~5% Thursday plunge driven by US-China trade tensions hurting demand outlook, weak US data and heavy US stockpiles. |
| WTI | 2019-05-22 | 1 | -3.6% | -4.6 | Reports a roughly 5% plunge as US-China trade tensions hit the demand outlook, with overfull US stockpiles adding pressure. |
| BRENT | 2019-06-05 | 5 | -12.0% | -3.0 | The biggest weekly drop of 2019 came from trade tensions, weak US data and overfull stockpiles, which set the downtrend that likely carried into the window. |

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| WTI | 2019-05-31 | [Oil falls over 3% on fresh trade worries, posts biggest monthly drop in six months](https://feedsoft.ai/events/9883-oil-falls-over-3-on-fresh-trade-worries-posts-biggest-monthly-drop-in-six-months.md) | -6.9% | +4.9% |
| WTI | 2019-08-04 | [Focus on Fracking: oil prices see largest one-day loss in 53 months; natural gas prices fall to 38 month low; oil supplies lowest in 38 weeks](https://feedsoft.ai/events/7908-focus-on-fracking-oil-prices-see-largest-one-day-loss-in-53-months-natural-gas.md) | -2.2% | -1.1% |
| WTI | 2025-04-07 | [Oil drops to four-year low, metals fall on recession fears](https://feedsoft.ai/events/6319-oil-drops-to-four-year-low-metals-fall-on-recession-fears.md) | -0.8% | -6.8% |
| WTI | 2019-05-29 | [Oil prices drop as trade war worries outweigh supply disruptions](https://feedsoft.ai/events/9886-oil-prices-drop-as-trade-war-worries-outweigh-supply-disruptions.md) | -9.3% | -2.2% |
| WTI | 2019-08-01 | [NYMEX Plunges on Fed Rates, Supply, Tariff Tweets](https://feedsoft.ai/events/11292-nymex-plunges-on-fed-rates-supply-tariff-tweets.md) | -12.7% | -4.7% |
| BRENT | 2019-05-31 | [Oil falls over 3% on fresh trade worries, posts biggest monthly drop in six months](https://feedsoft.ai/events/9883-oil-falls-over-3-on-fresh-trade-worries-posts-biggest-monthly-drop-in-six-months.md) | -8.8% | -2.2% |
| BRENT | 2025-04-07 | [Oil drops to four-year low, metals fall on recession fears](https://feedsoft.ai/events/6319-oil-drops-to-four-year-low-metals-fall-on-recession-fears.md) | -1.7% | -9.0% |
| BRENT | 2019-05-29 | [Oil prices drop as trade war worries outweigh supply disruptions](https://feedsoft.ai/events/9886-oil-prices-drop-as-trade-war-worries-outweigh-supply-disruptions.md) | -10.5% | -6.4% |

## Sources

- reuters.com: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil/oil-plummets-on-track-for-biggest-weekly-drop-in-2019-idUSKCN1ST01F/?feedName=businessNews&feedType=RSS

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Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.