The Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) share price is in the red today on the back of falling oil prices.
The company's share price is down 1.83% and is currently trading at $7.245. For perspective, the S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) is down 0.92%.
So what's going on with the Santos share price?
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Oil prices slide
Santos shares may be falling today, but it is not the only oil and gas producer struggling. The Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) share price is 0.64% lower while Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) is down 1.1%.
Brent crude oil is down 0.78% to US$99.25 a barrel, while the price of West Texas Intermediate oil is falling 0.71% to US$93.22, Bloomberg data shows.
Oil prices are dropping amid a weaker demand outlook and recession fears, Reuters reported. OANDA senior market analyst Edward Moya said (cited by Reuters):
Crude prices tumbled after a wealth of factory activity data suggested the world is headed towards a giant global economic contraction, and on expectations for more oil output following a very good earnings season for oil companies
Natural gas prices are also down 1.61% to US$8.15 MMBtu, according to Bloomberg.
Meanwhile, Morgans has named Santos as one of three shares to buy in August, my Foolish colleague James reported yesterday. This is due to its "diversified earnings base" and the resilience of its growth profile, the broker says.
Analysts have placed a $9.30 price target on the company's share price. This is 28% more than its price at the time of writing.
In financial results released in late July, Santos reported record first-half sales revenue of US$3.8 billion.
Share price snapshot
The Santos share price has jumped almost 12% in a year and gained around 15% year to date.
For perspective, the ASX 200 energy index has soared 30% in a year and 31% year to date.
Santos has a market capitalisation of about $24 billion based on the current share price.
