I am sure all readers are very aware that the onset of the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak has had a dramatic impact on the world’s financial markets, including energy prices. Now, the failure of OPEC and Russia last week to agree to an oil production cut has triggered an even more sudden crash in oil prices.
At the time of writing, oil prices have dropped over 20 per cent since last week, with the price for Brent Crude at $35.53, and WTI Crude at $31.87. Russian president Vladimir Putin stated “I want to stress that for the Russian budget, for our economy, the current oil prices level is acceptable”.
While energy prices prices have fluctuated significantly in recent years, this is the most dramatic crash in in oil markets that I can recall since starting this website. Dramatic changes in energy markets can have big implications for producers, governments, consumers and the overall geopolitical landscape.
Of course here at ECW, we are contemplating energy technologies that could also impact the whole energy production landscape, and could have important implications for the economics of the energy industry, and market readjustment may be something we have to get used to.