“It’s going to be one of the great dates in crude oil here,” Bob Yawger, director of the futures division at Mizuho Securities U.S.A., told the WSJ. ”The market’s already loaded up.”
The Drag on Oil Prices
A combination of diminished global output and rising global demand have helped reduce the global supply glut that dragged on oil prices for years. Production cuts from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies have largely contributed to the cut in supply. Meanwhile, expanding economies around the world has bolstered demand for raw materials such as crude oil.
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According to OPEC figures, the surplus of oil compared with the five-year average now sits at 55 million barrels, compared to 340 million barrels at the start of 2017, contributing to the 60% surge in oil prices since last summer.
“There’s a feeling that the global market is very tight right now and we can’t afford to have many disruptions,” Phil Flynn, senior energy analyst at Price Futures Group, told the WSJ.
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