Picture from Bloomberg
The recent rally in crude oil, though totally not unexpected, caught many analysts by surprise as to the scale and speed of the price appreciation. The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Crude Oil, traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), has risen more than 21% since mid- March. Crude oil futures have appre-ciated 45% since the beginning of 2021 on a host of bullish fundamentals that have relentlessly driven the price of this commodity to heights that were unimaginable at the begin-
ning of this year. With Brent Crude trading above US$70 ($92.70) a barrel (as of June 7), prices are back to pre-Covid levels.
