$51.23: That's the highest closing price for West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures contracts this year, which was registered on June 8. Since then, prices for crude oil have fallen back modestly to last trade around $49.
Is this a minor pullback or the start of a larger downtrend for oil prices?
YTD Oil Prices
June Marked The Annual Peak In Last 2 Years
In the last few years, whether by coincidence or not, oil peaked in the month of June before starting a big descent. Last year, for example, prices reached a high for the year on June 10 at $61.43 and fell below $40 in August.
Oil In 2015
In 2014, prices reached an annual high of $107.26 on June 20 before cratering to less than $50 by the end of the year.
Oil In 2014