More Of The Same From OPEC

26 May 2017:  As most people expected, OPEC, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries extended its oil production cuts for another 9 months, through March 2018.  At this week’s meeting in Vienna, OPEC members were hopeful that the cuts eventually will have an impact and that worldwide crude oil inventories will start to come down in the 2^nd half of 2017.   The current production limits, in effect since January of this year, have not (yet) had the desired effect of lifting oil prices.  In the past, most people would expect that widespread cheating was to blame, but that does not seem to be the case this time.  A more plausible explanation seems to be the resurgence in U.S. shale production, which has blunted the impact of OPEC’s production cuts.  However, to determine the impact of the OPEC cuts and their extension on the tanker market, we must go beyond the headlines and look at actual movement data. Please fill out the form to read the full article.