The IEA’s Mid-Term Oil Market Balance may be the only chart you need, to assess longer-term oil suply-demand. Based on abundand supply and slow demand growth, the recent drop in oil price is likely the beginning of a downtrend. Investment implicaitons: exposures to crude oil and oil producer stocks are not recommended. Crude oil prices recently plummeted to around $80 per barrel of the WTI contract, from the recent peak around $105 in June – a more than 23% drop. The Brent contract price stands around $86, even a steeper drop from its peak. This came as a surprise to many energy experts, given ongoing serious geopolitical issues in oil-producing regions such as ISIS advances in Iraq and Syria, and sanctions on Russia. The lower WTI price has negative consequences for earnings of U.S. oil producers. And, while lower oil price is a net-positive for the […]