Oil Is Slumping, Not Crashing

Our friends in OPEC are worried:

Saudi Arabia is pushing for a major short-term oil production cut as it seeks to respond to the impact of China’s deadly coronavirus on crude demand, according to OPEC officials….Representatives of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies are set to meet Tuesday and Wednesday to debate possible action after the outbreak originating in China, the world’s largest oil consumer, contributed to a sharp drop in crude prices.

Hmmm. It doesn’t look like all that sharp a drop. There are about five similar drops over the past two years, and none of them required a plague outbreak. So maybe January’s decline is just another ordinary little slump caused by a so-so global economy and an increase in American spare capacity thanks to fracking.

Or maybe we’re all going to die. Your choice.