It is the largest oil supply disruption in history, equivalent to about 10% of total global consumption. But crude prices on Thursday closed just above $100 per barrel, which is lower than the prices seen during smaller supply disruptions such as the one following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. One explanation is China and the U.S., the world's two largest economies, wield considerable influence over the oil market, and are using it to help plug the supply gap. China is the largest oil importer in ...