Among commodities exchange traded products, the United States Oil Fund (NYSEArca: USO), which tracks West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures, and the United States Brent Oil Fund (NYSEArca: BNO), which tracks Brent crude oil futures, garner plenty of attention.
Oil, as is often the case, has been volatile this year, but some market observers bullish traders should wait until 2017, pointing to next as a prime time for oil prices to really rebound. While production has declined in the U.S., recently rebounding oil prices are encouraging exploration and production companies to revisit spending plans with some increasing capital expenditures. That has some oil market observers concerned about a rising rig count and the subsequent impact on crude prices.
SEE MORE: It’s Game Time For Oil ETFs
Some professional traders do not see the current oil bear market lasting very long. Still, some concerned oil market participants believe oil is rallying without strong fundamental cause. A case can be made that oil’s rally is defying still troubling supply dynamics and tepid demand.
“When you step back and look at a longer time frame, it is clear that this oil price cycle which started in mid-2014 bottomed in February, 2016. The most recent pullback that started late in June and continued through early August was just the speculators overplaying their hand on the short side. The brief dip below $40/bbl did not get close to the double-bottom in February,” according to OilPrice.com.
[related_stories]