Crude under pressure.

This Wednesday, oil futures were hit lower after statements from the White House. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies were at the center of the discussion.

Jake Sullivan, the US national security adviser, said in a statement that the Biden administration was “interacting with relevant members of OPEC + about the importance of competitive markets in setting prices.”

The reason for these statements is the rise in prices in a scenario of world economic recovery, where international demand needs to be contained with greater production.

For the White House, the effort of OPEC + has not been enough and they must do more to deal with the increase in gasoline prices, which they see as a threat to the global economic recovery.

In turn, the White House, in a letter, ordered the Federal Trade Commission to conduct an investigation into the contribution of illegal practices to the increase in gasoline prices.

This was an unusual statement, which occurs in a context in which the Biden administration seeks to work on inflationary rates in accordance with its goals, discounting these types of external effects.

WTI prices fell at the open Tuesday from $ 68.3 dollars per barrel of petroleum to $ 67.3, then recovered and closed for sell at $ 67.8 dbp.

The BRENT fell from $ 70.7 dollars per barrel of petroleum to $ 69.5 dbp and then, like the WTI, recovered and closed sell at $ 69.9.