In recent months, production declined in OPEC members Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Venezuela, but output topped a post-Soviet era record in Russia last year. Russia is expected to continue pumping to take advantage of rebounding prices.
“This time around the downward swing could be aided by a rebound in the strength of the dollar,” according to OilPrice.com. “Typically, a weakening dollar pushes up oil prices, and the rapid run up in prices over the last few months occurred not coincidentally at a time when the dollar posted a steep decline. But the greenback has clawed back gains, particularly over the last week, with expectations of rising interest rates.”
The U.S. Dollar Index rose 1.5% last week.
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