On Thanksgiving night three years ago oil was trading around $73, when the Saudis blocked a vote on an OPEC production cut. The goal of the Saudis was to put the emerging, competitive U.S. shale industry out of business--to force oil prices lower so that these shale companies couldn't product profitably. Additionally, collapsing oil prices directly weighed on inflation measures and the inflation expectations. Oil prices have now recovered to the mid-$50s. Higher oil prices help his efforts to reshape the Saudi economy.

Source: Forbes November 24, 2017 17:48 UTC