When OPEC instituted their recent production cuts, the theory was that oil markets would balance after crashing in 2014. After Donald Trump won the presidency, many speculated that price fluctuation would become the norm based upon his inexperience in public office and statements during the U.S. presidential campaign. Popular news outlets also conjectured that he would start World War III and possibly limit democracy. So far none of those fears have come to fruition and it’s now time to realize that the geopolitical risk which has caused oil prices to rise in recent weeks is overblown. Brimming crude inventories and U.S. shale record output are the key factors keeping prices depressed. But if prices were to rise, the reason should be a drawdown in inventories, not overheated, geopolitical rhetoric. According to Matthew Kroenig Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council: “On almost every front, the U.S. is positioned for the […]