A year ago this week, markets reeled from the surprise election of U.S. president Donald Trump, and eagerly awaited OPEC’s November meeting as the last hope for an oil price rally. This year, all eyes are on the Middle East, the Saudi political purge, and the heating-up of tensions between the kingdom and Iran. Meanwhile, OPEC once again prepares for its November 30 meeting in Vienna, where most expect it will announce another extension of its oil production cut agreement. Bloomberg Gadfly’s Liam Denning’s recent account of the OPEC deal a year into the cuts suggests the current situation is similar to this time last year, with one notable exception. Last year, Denning says, investors and traders were highly skeptical of OPEC’s ability to really change prices by controlling production. Cheating was the leitmotif of this skepticism. This year, he notes, expectations are so bullish that net long bets […]