geopolitics

After climbing steadily since March 27th, oil prices stabilized at the $53-55 level late last week. As usual, prices got a boost from various oil minister’s comments about how well they were doing in meeting their production cut goals and how they are considering extending the cuts until the end of the year.

After falling on Monday on the news that Libya was resuming production from its largest oilfield that was shut down the previous week, oil prices moved higher for the next three days on hopes that the OPEC production cut was having the desired effect.

Crude prices rebounded sharply last week erasing nearly half the $7-8 selloff that began in early March. The March price drop came on the consensus that increasing crude inventories and ever higher rig counts would offset the 1.8 million production cut that OPEC was trying to orchestrate.

A weekly roundup of peak oil news. Last week oil prices fell for the third time in a month, closing in New York at just below $48 a barrel. Increasing US crude inventories remain the chief motivation for the price drop as many traders now see higher US production as largely offsetting the OPEC/NOPEC production cuts.

After a quick drop of $3-4 a barrel the week before last, oil prices steadied last week as the markets contemplated just how effective the OPEC/NOPEC production freeze will be in the short term.

Last week was the most active in many months as oil prices, widely believed to be stuck in a narrow trading range for the foreseeable future, plunged some 8 percent in the last three days of trading.

A weekly roundup of peak oil news. On Thursday last week NY oil prices fell to near the bottom of the $52.50-$54.50 trading range they have been stuck in since early January.

A weekly roundup of peak oil news. Oil prices moved to the top of their trading range last week…

A weekly roundup of Peak oil news. Oil prices have moved little since they jumped from the mid-$40s to the mid-$50s in late November. Last week was no exception.

A weekly roundup of peak oil news.

A weekly roundup of peak oil news. With the advent of the Trump administration and Republican control of the Congress, the world oil situation seems likely to become more uncertain than usual.

A weekly roundup of peak oil news.