First the China-US trade war, then the coronavirus pandemic. The global economy is suffering from increased instability in international politics and the sudden emergence of global “black swans”. The impact of this new situation on oil prices has been deep, and risks deepening: notwithstanding a first Opec + agreement to cut production, US Oil prices have plunged today, hitting a historic low. Although temporary production cuts can offer some short-term relief to oil producers, it appears that they can hardly solve the global demand crunch. A new era of stagnant oil prices has begun, and its political effects may reveal deeper than the economic ones.
