Oil Is Slumping, Not Crashing

Our friends in OPEC are worried:

Saudi Arabia is pushing for a major short-term oil production cut as it seeks to respond to the impact of China’s deadly coronavirus on crude demand, according to OPEC officials….Representatives of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies are set to meet Tuesday and Wednesday to debate possible action after the outbreak originating in China, the world’s largest oil consumer, contributed to a sharp drop in crude prices.

Hmmm. It doesn’t look like all that sharp a drop. There are about five similar drops over the past two years, and none of them required a plague outbreak. So maybe January’s decline is just another ordinary little slump caused by a so-so global economy and an increase in American spare capacity thanks to fracking.

Or maybe we’re all going to die. Your choice.

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A full one-third of our annual fundraising comes in this month alone. That’s risky, because a strong December means our newsroom is on the beat and reporting at full strength—but a weak one means budget cuts and hard choices ahead.

With only days left until December 31, we've raised about half of our $400,000 goal—but we need a huge surge in reader support to close the remaining gap. Whether you've given before or this is your first time, your contribution right now matters.

Managing an independent, nonprofit newsroom is staggeringly hard. There’s no cushion in our budget—no backup revenue, no corporate safety net. We can’t afford to fall short, and we can’t rely on corporations or deep-pocketed interests to fund the fierce, investigative journalism Mother Jones exists to do. That’s why we need you right now. Please chip in to help close the gap.

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