Back to 73 USD

Global benchmark brent trades near 73 USD per barrel, back to levels of June 2023 and 23% down since the peak in September. But hang on: we have a geopolitical polycrisis and OPEC is maintaining its production cuts at a moment where the US economy remains relatively resilient. Are less oil demand out of China, increased oil production by non-OPEC countries and the anticipation of a hard landing of the US economy the reasons of this bearish positioning by oil traders? While a lower oil price is deflationary, the current media attention from COP28 cannot hide the fact that demand for fossil fuels unfortunately continues to grow especially in the developing countries.