Since the Oil Crisis of 70’s and early 80’s, the price of crude oil has remained, mostly, in a $10-$30 band before breaking out of it in 2004. This breakout was primarily due to China-led oil demand growth and its impact on OPEC’s surplus oil production resulting in concerns about the tighter supply-demand situation. The 2008 financial crisis led to global recession which resulted in an unprecedented fall in oil prices by over $100, from its all-time highs in $140s before resuming an uptrend due to economic recovery. For the next 5 years, the prices hovered around the $100 mark whilst the shale boom in the US continued. The 2014-15 plunge in the oil prices was, primarily, driven by years of increase in oil supply from unconventional sources and the missing price support by OPEC as the oil producing nations continued to flood the market with […]