🚨 Oil is crashing and it could drag Texas, Wall Street, and the entire U.S. economy down with it.
Most people don’t realize what a drop to $50 really means.
But if you work, drive, invest, or live in America this thread matters to you. 🧵
Most people don’t realize what a drop to $50 really means.
But if you work, drive, invest, or live in America this thread matters to you. 🧵
Comments
• Brent crude: ~$59
• WTI crude: ~$56
These aren’t just random numbers. They're the lifeblood of the global economy and the U.S. economy in particular. Let’s break down why.
Brent is oil from the North Sea. It's the global benchmark used to price 2/3 of the world’s crude.
WTI (West Texas Intermediate) is sourced in the U.S., mostly from Texas, and it’s the benchmark for U.S. oil.
WTI tells us how U.S. producers and U.S. jobs are doing.
But the break-even price for many U.S. oil producers is ~$50. Below that?
Drilling becomes unprofitable. Rigs stop. Workers get laid off. It’s not just oil companies that feel it, it’s entire communities.
• Texas produces more oil than any other U.S. state
• Home to the Permian Basin, one of the most productive oil fields on Earth
• Oil revenues fund schools, infrastructure, and jobs millions of them
They’re adding hundreds of thousands of barrels per day even as demand weakens.
This is like throwing water into a bathtub that’s already full. It spills over and prices tank.
• U.S. GDP just shrank
• China’s oil use is slowing (thanks to EV adoption & LNG trucking)
• Global trade is stuck in a chokehold of tariffs and economic tension
Too much oil + too little demand = disaster for oil prices.