Crude oil markets experienced another episode of heightened volatility last week, adding to a series of turbulent periods so far in 2025. Bearish market fundamentals compounded by deteriorating macroeconomic sentiment exerted downward pressure on prices, as discussed in this week’s Tradeview Report. Market anxiety intensified over the prospect of another accelerated production increase by OPEC+, particularly after the group unexpectedly moved up its scheduled meeting from May 5 to May 3. Fears of a supply hike alongside poor U.S. April consumer confidence sent spot prices plummeting, with front-month WTI futures falling to their lowest prices since March 2021, settling at $58.21/bbl on Wednesday and $58.29/bbl on Friday (far left of blue line on chart below).
Featured Articles
Give and Take - How the Forward Curve Influences Storage Volumes at the Critical Cushing Oil Hub
The small town of Cushing, OK, occupies a central place in the U.S. crude oil market thanks to its hundreds of storage tanks and numerous pipeline connections. And while it might seem far removed from the factors that influence the global crude market, what happens elsewhere directly impacts the storage volumes at Cushing. In today’s RBN blog, we review the critical role that Cushing plays in crude oil storage, show how the forward curve can influence inventories, and look at what might be behind the recent uptick in storage levels, which followed a four-month slide.
The Downward Spiral – Why The Recent Crude Price Collapse Was Unusually Severe
On Friday (January 22, 2016) West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude prices on the CME/NYMEX futures exchange closed up $2.66/Bbl – the second day of a recovery from their 28% plunge during the first 20 days of 2016. The jury is still out on whether the recovery will be sustained. There was a similar (though less pronounced) price decline a year ago in January 2015 that did not last very long at the time. But in comparison the price destruction during this month’s collapse was unusually severe - not just because we saw prices under $30/Bbl for the first time since 2003. Today we explain why the extent of the price destruction along the forward curve this time suggests that last week’s recovery may be short lived.
