OPINION: Oil demand currently seems like a giant whirlpool, drawing in all available supplies with little sign of prices easing, despite the economic storm clouds gathering around the world.
Brent crude has remained above $120 per barrel and prices continue to strengthen, despite the decision by Opec exporters to allow an additional 650,000 barrels per day on global markets in July and August, rather than the previously agreed 400,000 bpd increment.
The US — keen to respond to Europe’s struggles to wean itself off Russian oil — has also been trying to find other ways to find more supply, whether that involves exhortation to domestic producers or attempting contortionism with established foreign policy tenets.