Oil prices have finally hit $50 last week, a projection that we made back in June this year. Bullish sentiment prevailed in the oil markets over the past week despite a significant increase in US crude oil inventories. Traders are expecting demand to pick up next year as vaccination campaigns are rolled out worldwide. Yet recent traffic data shows that road traffic is still below pre-crisis levels by 5% in Asia, 20% in Europe, and 40% in the US. The recent growth in US crude inventories is clearly due to an increase in imports and a decrease in exports. The EIA figures continue to show that demand is slowing in the United States, not only due to reduced mobility but also due to the beginning of winter season. US refinery runs are currently 2.16 million bpd below their level a year ago. OPEC+ is set to meet this week […]