Oil Prices Continue to Fall as Democratic Sweep Shakes Energy Markets

Crude oil prices moved even lower, and energy company stocks followed after the results of the U.S. midterms, as markets brace for a potentially radical change in U.S. policies. At the time of writing, Brent crude was trading at $94.30 per barrel, after dropping by 9% on Wednesday, and West Texas Intermediate was trading at $87.35 per barrel, after shedding 8% on Wednesday, following the Democrats' majority in both houses. The S&P Energy index was down by 4.77% as of the time of writing, to 976.18, on expectations of a shift in U.S. foreign policy, and energy policy, too. The expectations on the latter were driven by the landslide victories of Democrat candidates in Texas and Georgia, after they ran on platforms featuring opposition to new data center construction. Data centers have been the focus of natural gas demand projections over both the short and long term.