Fundamental Forecast for : Neutral
FUNDAMENTAL CRUDE OIL TALKING POINTS:
Oil’s longest losing streak in three years of seven straight weeks of negative returns came to an abrupt end last week. The re-emergence of a supply shock where demand far exceeds the available oil returned to the market this week with the Dallas Federal Reserve given credence to the view that the next big price shock is likely higher, not lower.
The chart above shows the premium demanded in blue for the December 2018 WTI contract over the December 2019 contract. Given the homogeneous properties of oil, a premium shows up when there is a perceived benefit to carry that exceeds the costs (insurance, storage, etc.) of carry, which would naturally help to support the front-month oil contract price in orange as we’ve seen.
While supply has been rising now, there remains little evidence that global demand is set to weaken. Adding to the increasingly supported outlook for crude is the weakening US Dollar, which dropped and continued to do so after US President Donald Trump came out this week with a criticism that his pick for the Fed Chair, Jeremy Powell has failed to provide cheap money to the US.
Another key story is the shelving of the world’s largest anticipated IPO, Saudi Aramco, which Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) tagged with a $2 Trillion valuation. The shelving may have to do with the need not to dilute ownership as oil has rebounded, and may continue to do so.