No Demand
2020 is not going to be the year for a huge uptick in demand. Economies are going to be battling the reality of reduced shipping supplies from China and thus all businesses are going to be hit with detrimental losses. This could be a huge problem for the Saudis and Opec in general. To compound these problems, Russia seems more intent on using the current crisis landscape as a perfect sledgehammer to hit their old enemies in the US. By running at a discourse to Opec's intent on tightening supplies, Russia appears to be aiming to bankrupt the shale industry, This will be at the expense of their relations with fellow Opec partners. Its a high risk strategy which the Russians can afford to play. Whether or not this is the correct play for Russia in the long term will be evaluated in years to come.
As for traders in this popular commodity where can the price go from here. With no long term hopes of bringing back those $60 price points, it looks likely that positions will be profitable between the lower ranges. In the long term Oil could find itself recovering in 2021 and anyone sitting on bargain buys from this year could stand to make huge ROI.
It will be interesting to see how this situation develops. Russia could be playing a high stakes play but with their lower production costs this is well within their means.
