“Do you see what happens, Larry?!”
“Do you see what happens Larry when you let US shale back into the game?!”
Following this week’s dramatic collapse in crude prices which, you’re reminded, erased the entirety of the post-OPEC-cut gains…
…triggering a widening in HY spreads…
…and a selloff in anything energy-related…
… we saw the follow through on Sunday as Gulf stocks plunged.
In Riyadh, the Tadawul All Share Index fell 1.2% to its lowest level since January 16. 86% of the index’s 176 members fell:
In Abu Dhabi, the ADX General fell 0.5%, its 4th straight decline, the longest losing streak since December. The index now trades below its 50-, 100- and 200-day moving averages:
And in Dubai the DFM General slumped 1.1%:
So this poses something of a quandary: do you extend production cuts to buoy prices and improve market sentiment in the short-term?, or do you not extend production cuts and move to drive US shale out of business once and for all thus cementing market share and preserving the cartel’s ability to… well… act like a cartel, over the long-run?
For now…
In speaking of the U.S. oil shale guys, an Arabic official said, “May the fleas of my father’s camels nest in their beards”,