Towards the end of 2017 and for much of the first quarter of this year, both oil futures benchmarks – i.e. Brent, the global proxy gauge, and West Texas Intermediate, the keenly watched U.S. contract – oscillated in very predictable ranges marking a gradual uptick to sub-$70 per barrel for the former, and sub-$65 for the latter by end of Q1 2018. India’s rising demand and China’s still relatively robust importation levels ensured a drop below $40 was not going to happen. At the same time, a collective production cut deal of 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) between oil cartel OPEC’s 14 members and 10 non-OPEC producers, brokered by Saudi Arabia and Russia – currently scheduled to run through the end of 2018 – kept prices at relative highs but well short of three figures last seen around mid-2014 ( see below ). Yet, predictability is not something […]