Why oil prices are suddenly tanking

according to Once red-hot, oil prices are suddenly tanking. Related: The oil market's shock absorbers are nearly goneTrump has repeatedly blasted OPEC for lofty oil prices and complained that prices are "too high." In fact, oil bulls argued that unleashing more oil now will leave Saudi Arabia with little firepower to respond to future shortages. That suggests that Saudi Arabia is taking aggressive steps to keep oil prices from getting too high. Last week, oil prices plunged after Libya's national oil company announced it had regained control of multiple ports, enabling it to resume exports.

Could oil prices spike above $150?

That's causing reserves at major producers to fall and the industry's reinvestment ratio to plunge to the lowest in a generation, paving the way for oil prices to surpass records reached last decade, according to Bernstein. RELATED: Oil prices slip, but it's likely just temporary"Investors who had egged on management teams to reign in capex and return cash will lament the underinvestment in the industry," the analysts wrote. The oversupply of crude globally in recent years has masked "chronic underinvestment," Bernstein said in the report. The producers aim now to pump more to help cool the market, but disruptions from Libya to Venezuela are keeping prices elevated. Proven reserves of the world's top oil companies have fallen by more than 30 percent on average since 2000, with only Exxon and BP showing an improvement, helped by acquisitions, Bernstein said.

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collected by :Frank Ithan