Related: Supply Concerns Help Oil ETFs Rally, Brent Crude Breaks Above $80
Other factors contributing to oil’s surge this year was the U.S. exploring the possibility of tapping into their emergency reserves to stymie disruptions in oil supply, notably the slashing of Iranian oil imports. The U.S. is currently pumping oil at record levels of around 11 million barrels per day.
“Commodity traders Trafigura and Mercuria think Brent could rise to $90 by Christmas and pass $100 in early 2019, forecasting nearly 2M bbl/day of crude could be taken out of the market,” according to Seeking Alpha.
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