After a dismal start to the year, oil prices staged a partial recovery, with dated Brent Blend, the global benchmark, rising by almost 70% from a 13-year low of US$26/barrel in January to US$44/b on May 10th. The rally was driven in part by stronger economic data from China and robust gasoline demand in the US: Economist Intelligence Unit . On the supply side successive supply disruptions (in Nigeria, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya and Canada) have also provided support, as has falling US output. The broad recovery in wider financial markets, coupled with a modest weakening of the US dollar, has also boosted sentiment towards oil. In April oil futures prices also pointed towards a nearing rebalancing of the oil market, as the contango (a situation where the oil price for future delivery is higher than the spot price) narrowed across all maturities. Although recent price developments have tilted risks […]