Oil Markets Are Much Tighter Than Oil Prices Suggest

Oil prices have continued trading in a narrow range in the new year with fears about weak fundamentals and the threat of a recession outweighing geopolitical risks. Last week, Commodity analysts at Standard Chartered argued that oil fundamentals were in better shape than the market was giving it credit for, and the market is heavily discounting geopolitical risks. This week, Standard Chartered is back again, noting a sharp improvement in oil balances in the current year compared to 2022, suggesting the market is much tighter than current…