The price is right
With the help of thirsty consumers and collapsing Venezuelan output, the market seems at last to have found its range
Venezuela's oil output falls steadily. The nuclear deal with Iran appears doomed. Analysts and diplomats fret that another conflict between Israel and Hezbollah is looming. Opec shows no sign of ending its cuts. Demand is strong. Non-Opec output is soaring. A global trade war seems imminent. These are grounds for significant oil-price volatility. Yet the most telling feature of the market is its relative calm. Since Opec and its partners started cutting in January 2017, the widest intra-month price difference has been $7.17 a barrel. In the year before, it was more than $10. In 2016, the differential average was $6.75/b; in 2015, $7.72; and in 2014, $7.17. Since the cuts, the average has bee

Also in this section
6 February 2025
Policy initiatives will take time to reverse declining output, and restoring investor confidence is far from certain
6 February 2025
This premier event is poised to address the evolving technology and investment demands of North America’s thriving chemical and pharmaceutical sectors
5 February 2025
Growing appetite for LNG reinvigorates discussions between China and Myanmar, but civil war may prevent talk becoming action
5 February 2025
With new capacity, buyers must navigate sanctioned Russian crude, a return to traditional OPEC barrels and diversity of supply