A bitter price war has erupted between two of the biggest oil-producing nations in the world, Saudi Arabia and the United States of America. The US has a new way of extracting oil from the earth and distributing it quickly to markets. In order to compete, Saudi Arabia have reduced their prices to undercut their competitors. This is compounded by the recent Covid-19 pandemic which has seen people confined to their homes and unable to travel. Planes are grounded and only essential staff are travelling.
Questions 1. What might have caused the supply of oil to the market to increase?
2. What impact do you think the trade war and new technology have on price? 3. Why do you think demand for oil decreased?
1 Markets
What is a Market? A market is a place where buyers and sellers interact with the purpose of exchanging goods and services.
There are numerous markets:
1. Physical
markets, e.g. a supermarket.
2. Virtual markets, e.g. online.
3. Global markets, e.g. eBay.
4. Farmers’ markets, e.g. The Farmers’ Market in Carlow Town.
5. Christmas markets, e.g. Galway
Christmas Market.
6. Stock exchange, e.g. New York (buying and selling shares).
7. Black market, e.g. downloading movies through illegal sites (unethical).