Oil markets prepare for lofty prices and restrained supply
A failed attack on a Saudi refinery is only the latest event pushing prices up
WHAT A DIFFERENCE a year makes. On March 6th 2020 Saudi Arabia and Russia failed to agree on a deal to restrain production. A price war ensued, with the two giants unleashing millions of barrels of crude just as covid-19 prompted lockdowns and demand dried up. Now Saudi Arabia and other producers are curbing output as demand rises. The price of Brent crude, the international benchmark, briefly climbed above $70 a barrel on March 8th for the first time since May 2019. It dipped a little thereafter, to $68 on March 10th.
This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “High and tight”
Finance & economics March 13th 2021
- The world’s consumers are sitting on piles of cash. Will they spend it?
- Oil markets prepare for lofty prices and restrained supply
- How America’s blockbuster stimulus affects the dollar
- China’s budget forecast is more informative than its growth target
- The many guises of vaccine nationalism
- Warmer Arctic waters could turn the tides in LNG markets
- China’s government is cracking down on fintech. What does it want?
- The perils of asking central banks to do too much
From the March 13th 2021 edition
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