Chart of the Week – 4/23/2020

Whistling By the Grave

The year 2020 has been a storied one for crude oil. First, we had the big spike following the death of an Iranian General, when we witnessed per-barrel prices soar into the $60s.(1) Second, enter coronavirus and the initial damper on demand which resulted. The third blow came shortly after that, as Saudi Arabia effectively abandoned OPEC+ and flooded an oversupplied market with more supply. In hindsight, this only accelerated what was coming. The final move, which had been telegraphed for some time, was the reality that available storage for oil in the US was nearing capacity.