WTI Crude - An End to the Price War?
Market has high expectations for OPEC+++
The stand-out event today is undoubtedly the OPEC+++ meeting, where producers will attempt to find agreement on output that addresses the collapse in demand and crude prices.
No one is winning in this environment but, as ever, each are losing to different degrees and have a different ideas on how it should be resolved. I don’t think a grand deal is as nailed on as markets would have us believe but, as ever, common sense should prevail.
If a substantial deal is going to get over the line, the US must play a part in some form. It is currently hoping that a market-driven, forced production cut will be enough to convince other producers to cut but I’m not sure that will be enough. Other assurances will be necessary to get Russia on board, which is the biggest risk to a deal.
That said, traders have heavily bought into this potential deal, following President Trump's tweet last week. The risk now is not just whether a deal is done but, if it is, will it be enough? I'm not sure a 10 million barrel cut will be enough to hold the gains and even 15 million may just about given the demand destruction we've seen.
Should we see above 15 million barrels, it could give the oil price a big boost, with the break of $30 in WTI potentially being the catalyst for another big move higher. The next notable level above here is $35 and if producers want to see higher than this, the cut may have to be closer to 20 million and include the US in some form.
Oil has jumped today on reports that Saudi Arabia and Russia have reached a deal on cuts of up to 20 million. The headline sounds good but the small print may not read quite as well. Should this be confirmed without any drawbacks in the fine print, I'd expect oil prices to rise more than they have.
There's always the risk of "buy the rumour, sell the fact" strategies going into these things which is why the detail and believability is so important.
From a technical standpoint, this looks like a market that's bottomed and just waiting to pounce above $30, but for that we need confirmation. A break above $30 says traders are satisfied with the cuts, at which point we may be able to look upwards for the first time in a while.
The stand-out event today is undoubtedly the OPEC+++ meeting, where producers will attempt to find agreement on output that addresses the collapse in demand and crude prices.
No one is winning in this environment but, as ever, each are losing to different degrees and have a different ideas on how it should be resolved. I don’t think a grand deal is as nailed on as markets would have us believe but, as ever, common sense should prevail.
If a substantial deal is going to get over the line, the US must play a part in some form. It is currently hoping that a market-driven, forced production cut will be enough to convince other producers to cut but I’m not sure that will be enough. Other assurances will be necessary to get Russia on board, which is the biggest risk to a deal.
That said, traders have heavily bought into this potential deal, following President Trump's tweet last week. The risk now is not just whether a deal is done but, if it is, will it be enough? I'm not sure a 10 million barrel cut will be enough to hold the gains and even 15 million may just about given the demand destruction we've seen.
Should we see above 15 million barrels, it could give the oil price a big boost, with the break of $30 in WTI potentially being the catalyst for another big move higher. The next notable level above here is $35 and if producers want to see higher than this, the cut may have to be closer to 20 million and include the US in some form.
Oil has jumped today on reports that Saudi Arabia and Russia have reached a deal on cuts of up to 20 million. The headline sounds good but the small print may not read quite as well. Should this be confirmed without any drawbacks in the fine print, I'd expect oil prices to rise more than they have.
There's always the risk of "buy the rumour, sell the fact" strategies going into these things which is why the detail and believability is so important.
From a technical standpoint, this looks like a market that's bottomed and just waiting to pounce above $30, but for that we need confirmation. A break above $30 says traders are satisfied with the cuts, at which point we may be able to look upwards for the first time in a while.
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