Despite the significant rally in oil over the past couple of weeks, demand uncertainty continues to affect prices. The outbreak of the second wave of a new Covid-19 strain in India has particularly left the markets concerned about fuel demand in the world’s 3 rd largest oil consumer. According to Indian state-owned refiner, Bharat Petroleum, overall fuel demand in India is now estimated to have dropped by about 7% from pre-covid levels in April 2019. Furthermore, refineries have postponed maintenance plans, which has disrupted refinery runs in many regions around the country. Nonetheless, prices continued their way upward despite the unprecedented health crisis in India, which currently reports more than 400,000 new cases per day, not including cases that haven’t been reported. Yet, very recently, some investment banks have predicted that crude oil prices could hit $80-$85 in the second half of this year, as Europe, and many other […]