Oil dropped as much as 40 percent during the fourth quarter of 2018, but Saudi Arabia pared back its production near the end of the year. Additionally, supply disruptions came about after the Trump administration blocked oil shipments to and from Venezuela as the country faces tenuous political stability.
In December, lengthy Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) discussions finally came to a conclusion, resulting in a larger-than-expected production cut. OPEC and associated partners agreed to cut 1.2 million barrels per day with OPEC being responsible for 800,000 barrels.
According to global investment firm Goldman Sachs, more bullishness could be ahead for oil prices in the near-term before an eventual ceiling spurred by a “New Oil Order” puts a cap on price spikes.
“While prices could easily trade in a $70-$75/bbl trading range, we believe such an environment would likely prove fleeting,” according to Goldman’s global head of commodities research Jeffrey Currie and senior commodity strategist Damien Courvalin. “As a result, we would view near-term strength as a window of opportunity for producers to sell forward prices to create earnings security before the return of the New Oil Order later this year.”
For investors looking for continued upside in U.S. cyclical sectors over defensive sectors, the Direxion MSCI Cyclicals Over Defensives ETF (NYSEArca: RWCD) offers them the ability to benefit not only from cyclical sectors potentially performing well, but from their outperformance compared to defensive sectors.
Conversely, if investors believe that U.S. defensive sectors will outperform cyclical sectors, the Direxion MSCI Defensives Over Cyclicals ETF (NYSEArca: RWDC) provides a means to not only see defensive sectors perform well, but a way to capitalize on their outperformance compared to cyclical sectors.
For more news regarding oil ETFs, click here.