The OPEC+ agreement succeeded in at least putting “a floor under prices,” according to a new report from the International Energy Agency. The global supply surplus is not resolved, and would likely reemerge if OPEC+ let up on its production cuts. But the agreement was welcomed by the IEA in its December Oil Market Report, where the agency noted that oil prices had been extremely volatile in the few months prior to the meeting in Vienna last week. “Recently, prices have been volatile; in early October Brent crude oil prices reached $86/bbl on concerns that the market could tighten as Iranian sanctions were implemented,” the IEA wrote. “Then, thirty-seven days later, they fell back to $58/bbl as producers more than met the challenge of replacing Iranian and other barrels. Such volatility is not in the interests of producers or consumers.” The agency kept its 2018 demand figures steady, but […]