As I write this, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is above $66 a barrel while Brent crude is breaching $71 a barrel for the first time since December 2014. That means, as of yesterday’s close, WTI has risen 12.2 percent for the month; Brent 8.1 percent. Now, I’ve written about the narrowing of the global crude oil balance for some time. But it’s looking more and more like that balance is arriving quicker than anticipated. And this is what it’ll mean for oil prices… The Single-Most Important Factor For Oil Prices The amount of surplus volume in the market will stabilize. That’s a fact. But unlike what some pundits may say, the point isn’t to eliminate the surplus. Excess available supply provides a necessary buffer that restrains on large swings in pricing. It’s when traders have concluded the supply is increasing due to overproduction that the downward pressure on prices […]