Portfolio investors anticipate petroleum prices will remain range bound in the short term so positioning is increasingly focused on expected changes in relative performance among the major crude and fuels contracts.
Portfolio investors purchased petroleum in the first full week of 2024, reversing sales the previous week and continuing the pattern of choppy trading that has continued since early December.
Saudi Arabia made two recent decisions that on the surface seem to indicate a steady crude oil market outlook but may point to a ticking up in concern over the state of demand.