our free mobile video up c-span now or online at c-span.org. ♪♪ >> at least six president recorded conversations while in office. here many of the conversations going c-span2 presidential recordings. the next tapes, private conversations, part deliberations and one 100% unfiltered. >> let me say the main thing is that will pass and my heart goes out to those people with the best of intentions and i'm sure you know if i could have spent a little more time being a politician last year end less time being our president, i would've kicked their butts out but i didn't know what they were doing. >> season to c-span now mobile app or whatever you get your podcast.

>> this morning, jim to talk about gas and oil prices the market this morning. let's begin there. you are the head of research for energy ability, s&p global commodity insights vice president there. what is going on right now today with oil and gas markets and prices? >> it's a precarious state. we had covid andov the invasionf ukraine. global oil and gas markets we knew since the 1990s, the global markets are now coming apart. they've been petitioned for oil between the by russian oil and those who don't, that's what contributed to higher prices we saw this year. oil from russia e who do not pay because of higher prices, demand has started to ease. we had a strong demand surge

late 2020, 20201 -- host: post-covid -- guest: the demand has eased in highhi prices and of the key factors in the easing of prices is the economic slowdown in china which is typically the biggest source of oil so that's had a big impact on easing prices as well. >> explained that, what's happening in china? us going to the pump here in tha united states. >> is a global market and everyone pays the same price for crude oil essentially and china, the second biggest oil market in the world and most important in terms of oil demand growth, china has had this zero covid policy they call dynamic covid policy that led to shutdowns of important to the economy in china. nd may, in shanghai and

in other parts as well, and that slowed the recovery in china. china was the first to recover after covid. but then this year, the return of bouts of covid in key cities slowed china's economy. the property market in china, a key engine of growth in china, also slowed. this year, oil demand in china is likely to decline from what it was a year ago -- not by much but by a little. that is a very significant development, given china's role as the main source of oil demand growth over the last decade. host: so if the chinese are not demanding as much gas, that means we, in the united states of america, get to pay less? guest: not necessarily. what happens -- oil is a reflection of the world. what happens in china, in the u.s., europe, the middle east, it all comes together to shape the price of oil.

so the demand equation is one part of it. then you have supply. supply, because of the oil supply collapsed during covid, investment in new supply fell dramatically in 2020. some countries still are unable to produce as much as they did before covid, including the united states. so while demand growth has slowed and eased, supply is still struggling to keep pace, even with lesser demand growth. host: the white house said yesterday gas prices have come down 17 days straight. is that true and why? guest: yes. the u.s. national average in june broke $5 per gallon. that was the highest nominal price ever. they have eased since then, largely because of slowing demand growth around the world, particularly in china but also in the u.s. that is a key factor in the

easing of prices. there have been some additional supply -- saudi arabia and the uae have put more supply on the market. u.s. oil production is generally growing. so there has been more supply. and russian oil exports, despite the war, despite the sanctions, have been remarkably resilient. russian crude oil exports really have not fallen since the invasion began. host: who is buying their oil? guest: china, india. european countries are still buying russian oil, much less than before the war, but they are still buying it. there are still many buyers of russian oil. we have seen a big switch towards more asian buyers of russian oil since the invasion began, particularly from india. host: let's talk about supply and what happened after this country went into the pandemic stage of covid-19.

all cities across the country were shut down. there was demand gone. what was our supply situation like then and how did former president trump respond to that supply? where did he put it? guest: it was a remarkable chain of events in 2020. as we all know, the economy largely shut down. mobile oil demand fell 20% in april of 2020. we had never seen anything like that before. massive decline in demand. oil prices fell negative, briefly -- can you imagine, if you are a producer of oil, you have to pay someone to take it. right on the eve of covid, u.s. oil production was at an all-time high, almost 13 million barrels per day. as covid hit, oil prices collapsed, oil production started to fall.

in april of 2020, march april -- march and april of 2020, president trump helped to essentially broker a deal between saudi arabia and russia and other members of opec and that countries that work with them that lead to a 10 million barrel per day cut in oil production in 2020. fast-forward forward to today, this month, that 10 million per barrel a day cut -- oil demand before covid was 100 million barrels per day it it was a very substantial cut on the part of saudi arabia, russia, and their partners. that cut has now been made up, for the most part, for those who can. but again, some countries who cut back in 2020 -- angola, nigeria -- they cannot produce as much as they can before because of a decline in investment. host: after the president did this, was there still a glut of

supply? guest: absolutely. the amount of oil put into storage skyrocketed in april and may of 2020. the fastest pace of growth in inventory we have ever seen. host: what happened to that oil? guest: a lot of that, as demand recovered -- demand really started to recover in june of 2020, and it recovered at a pretty fast lip. -- clip. that build up in inventory we saw the first few months of covid has largely been drained over the last year and a half to meet rising demand. host: and it was not enough, is that correct? what happened over the last year and a half? once that glut was gone, then what? guest: there is not much production capacity left. what we call spare production capacity -- oil production capacity that is not currently

utilized is very thin right now. back in 2020, when these cuts were first made, you had spare capacity of almost 10 million barrels per day. today, that effective scare -- spare capacity, that cushion is probably one million euros per day or less. host: i want to encourage our viewers to call in with your questions and comments about what you're seeing where you live, what is it like for you with oil and gas prices. jim burkhard is the vice president and head of research for oil markets, energy, and mobility with s&p global community insights. he is here to take your questions and comments, so start dialing in. you can also text us, (202) 748-8003. how much is a barrel of oil now, and what does that tell you? guest: there are two key prices, but they are essentially both in

the upper 90's. $96 if you look at the american benchmark, $99 for crude oil if you're looking at the international benchmark. by benchmark, those other prices that set oil all over the world. host: and the average price now? guest: in the u.s., about $4.30, which is down quite a bit from june, when it was above $5 per gallon. host: will it go lower? guest: that is the key question. there is a lot of uncertainty, as there always is. if the economy continues to slow globally, if china's economy remains on a slowed path, then we may have seen the peak in gasoline prices this year. however, we do have efforts to reduce russian oil exports, particularly by the european union, which are supposed to take effect at the end of this

year. so if there are significant amounts of russian oil removed on the market, then we could see prices rise again. but that is a big uncertainty, because so far, russian crude oil exports have been resilient. but if we did lose a couple million barrels per day of russian crude oil exports later this year and early next, that is a different story. host: you said former president trump yogurt a deal to cut reduction in april of 2020, when the demand was so low. now president biden is asking those countries to increase production. are they responding? guest: somewhat. saudi arabia and the uae are the two main countries that have the capacity to increase production. they have increased it significantly. saudi arabia production right now is at an all-time high. they have never produced more than they are now. what is not very clear is how

much more they can produce. oil production and capacity is a function of investment. so countries, companies can invest more to produce more. but that takes time, and there does appear to be a very incursion of spare capacity right now in the middle east. host: we will hear from john in iron mountain, michigan. good morning. what do you say? caller: with the price of oil, whatever it is, at $98, what we are paying now, hours dropped over a dollar since last month or so, so we are averaging $4.09 a gallon right now. across the border in wisconsin, which pays one less gas tax, they are in the $3.90's or $3.85. we get our gas and oil from

green bay, wisconsin, because we have no refineries in the upper peninsula right now. and i am up on the politics. if the republicans would sign the price gouging bill that is in the works right now, it would down another at least $.50 a gallon right now. that is my comment. i'm a math person. i remember -- at $98 a barrel back -- it was at $3.75 back a couple years ago. at $98, it should be $3.75. host: is that true? we believe this year to keep our commitment to coverage of congress. go to our website c-span.work. the u.s. senate now gatling and for the nomination of elizabeth

williams haynes to be judge for eastern district of virginia, confirmation vote on her -- the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. eternal god, our hearts are steadfast for you. though evil sometime seems to prosper, we trust you to cause justice to prevail.