Can gas prices climb again?

On August 4, West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US crude oil benchmark, went below $90 a barrel for the first time since the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out in February.

Also, on the same day, the price of the global benchmark for crude oil, Brent, which is used to price other crude grades traded globally, dropped below $95.

Early in the year, oil prices rose as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine added to supply-side worries. 

Brent oil reached close to its all-time high of $139 in March and since then, worries of an economic slowdown have grown.

Last week at an OPEC+ summit, the top oil-producing nations decided to increase output in September by 100,000 barrels per day (BPD), or roughly 0.1 percent of the world's oil market.

But even with that output growth rate, OPEC+ is unlikely to succeed in their target as the bloc's compliance with the production deal was already above 300 percent in June. 

This indicates that most producers are already having difficulty meeting their quotas and will continue to do so, analysts say.

Dangers associated with the ongoing conflict in Ukraine could also quickly raise prices back to at least $100 per barrel. 

Here are some other wild cards out there that could send gas prices climbing again.

Gas shortage in Europe:

Since Russian gas giant Gazprom reduced throughput on Nord Stream 1, the most significant Russian pipeline to Germany, to just 20 percent of its capacity, natural gas prices in Europe have risen even more recently. 

Additionally, the Kremlin has frequently issued subliminal threats to cut off or maintain low natural gas supply in Europe during winter.

The main continental European natural gas benchmark, Dutch TTF, is now trading at roughly 200 euros per megawatt-hour (MWh), which is equivalent to about $350 per barrel of oil. 

READ MORE: Gas wars - which EU countries will be most affected?

But still, this winter's increased demand may cause gas prices in Europe to soar significantly higher, which would plunge the continent into a recession.

Iran nuclear crisis

Iran's accelerating nuclear programme might lead to a foreign policy crisis that disrupts the world's oil markets. 

Iran's stores of highly enriched uranium at a level of 60 percent (which is very near to 90 percent weapons grade) are already sufficient to build a simple nuclear device. 

The US and Iran resumed indirect talks to re-enter the 2015 Iran nuclear deal on August 4 in Vienna and the European Union on Monday put forward a "final" text to revive the deal. 

A senior EU official said a final decision on the proposal, which needs US and Iranian approval, was expected within "very, very few weeks", according to Reuters news agency. There is no guarantee that Iran might agree to the deal.

Libya crisis

By reducing global oil supplies, political unrest in key oil-producing nations might push oil prices back up. For example, despite the agreement reached in July to halt the oil embargo on Libya, the country is still gripped by a severe political crisis that might cause the blockade to be reinstated. 

In fact, the country still has two politicians claiming to be the only prime minister, and both are supported by various armed factions currently engaged in conflict in Tripoli, the nation's capital.

Goldman Sachs, the investment bank, said on Sunday the market will remain in unsustainable deficits at current prices.

“And balancing it will still require demand destruction on top of the ongoing economic slowdown.”