Apr 09, 2024
Oil: OPEC has 'hands on the steering wheel' of energy market
Crude oil futures (CL=F, BZ=F) momentarily pause their price rally after hitting multi-month highs, remaining elevated around various geopolitical tensions including the ongoing conflict between Israeli and Hamas forces in the Middle East. CIBC Private Wealth US Senior Energy Trader Rebecca Babin weighs in on the oil inventory pressures associated with OPEC+'s production cuts and the Russia-Ukraine War, looking ahead to the range where oil and US gas prices could eventually settle into. "Right now what they [OPEC+] have is a beautiful position of controlling the market. They've got their hands on the steering wheel here. They don't want to lose that," Babin tells Yahoo Finance. "You let it go too far, you get SPR (Strategic Petroleum Reserve). So, let's bring back some barrels. I think this puts a damper on this rally to $100 [per barrel] that some people are talking about. And he second big factor I think is demand destruction. You can't just have an explosive rally to the upside and think demand is going to be completely inelastic." For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Yahoo Finance Live. Editor's note: This article was written by Luke Carberry Mogan.