Oil prices have climbed nearly uninterrupted since late April, but the gains could be coming to an end. On Friday, oil prices fell sharply, hitting the pause button on a rally that saw WTI rebound from -$37 per barrel on April 20, to nearly $34 per barrel on May 21, a more than $70-per-barrel swing in just a few weeks. Of course, the plunge deep into negative territory was likely a unique, one-off phenomenon. Nevertheless, the rally back into (positive) $30 territory has been impressive. Of note, China’s oil demand has climbed back to about 13 million barrels per day (mb/d), a swift rebound that undergirded improving market sentiment. With China’s demand back to about 90 percent of pre-pandemic levels, oil traders are clearly holding out hopes of a quick rebound elsewhere. Meanwhile, the rapid shut in of production in North America combined with the OPEC+ production cuts has […]