Oil Falls as Potential for More Energy Legislation Spooks Market
- WTI erases all of its gains to settle below $119 a barrel
- Biden ally is considering an 21% surtax on oil profits
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Oil’s rally evaporated amid signals that Democrats are considering more energy legislation as they and the White House face increasing pressure to curb US energy costs and inflation.
West Texas Intermediate erased all of its gains late in the session to settle below $119 a barrel. US President Biden has not ruled out an excess profit tax for oil companies, Bharat Ramamurti, deputy director of the National Economic Council, said in a Bloomberg Television interview. Democratic Senator Ron Wyden is planning to propose a surtax that would mean companies face as much as 42% federal taxes depending on their profit margin, according to people briefed on the proposal.