The price is right

With the help of thirsty consumers and collapsing Venezuelan output, the market seems at last to have found its range

Venezuela's oil output falls steadily. The nuclear deal with Iran appears doomed. Analysts and diplomats fret that another conflict between Israel and Hezbollah is looming. Opec shows no sign of ending its cuts. Demand is strong. Non-Opec output is soaring. A global trade war seems imminent. These are grounds for significant oil-price volatility. Yet the most telling feature of the market is its relative calm. Since Opec and its partners started cutting in January 2017, the widest intra-month price difference has been $7.17 a barrel. In the year before, it was more than $10. In 2016, the differential average was $6.75/b; in 2015, $7.72; and in 2014, $7.17. Since the cuts, the average has bee