Oil-market sentiment is on the turn

After pushing towards $120 a barrel in February, oil prices are fragile again. Macroeconomics, geopolitics, tepid demand and buoyant supplies are all beginning to weigh on Brent

March has provided the turning point for market sentiment in the past. Do not be surprised if it turns out to have been the same this year, too. In London on 21 March, Brent was trading just above $108/b. Despite the 10% drop since February’s highs, however, those levels still look pricey and vulnerable. Bad macroeconomic news is swirling across the world again. This is bad news for global energy consumption. “The macroeconomic environment underpinning oil demand, as of yet, shows little sign of short term improvement,” noted the International Energy Agency (IEA) last month. And remember the surprising rise in consumption seen at the end of 2012? It was, as some wise people thought at the ti