The year 2020 closed with a 22% drop in black gold compared to 2019. Brent was trading for US$51.26.
The worst drop since 2015, linked to the appearance of the Covid 19 epidemic and especially to the conflict within OPEC, bringing together the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, including Russia, last March.
Russia and Saudi Arabia, the world's second and third largest producers respectively, waged a brief but intense price war that resulted in a sharp drop in prices.
Since then, prices have recovered without returning to their pre-pandemic level. In early November, successive announcements of COVID-19 vaccines prompted investors to buy oil, hoping for a recovery in demand.