global oil markets have been severely affected by the consequences of the Corona pandemic during the year 2020, as prices fell from levels of 70 dollars last January to less than 20 dollars in April.

With the arrival of the new year, questions arise related to market trends during the new year, and will the sharp price fluctuations that crude prices witnessed during 2020 continue?

According to Arabiya Net, a report by the Financial Times, based on expert opinions, indicated that there are five main factors that determine crude price trends during the coming period, which we review as follows:

request factor ... good news, but!

demand has always been one of the main drivers of global oil markets, a factor that has been severely affected in the midst of the Corona pandemic with the lockdown measures taken by governments around the world to confront the deadly virus and so on. The disruption of economic activities followed.

and the International Energy Agency forecasts that the average demand for oil during the current year will witness the largest annual jump ever, but demand levels will not return to what they were before the pandemic With the continued application of precautionary measures, even partially, in many economic activities around the world.

The agency expects that demand for crude oil will rise next year by 6 million barrels per day to 96.9 million barrels per day, a number that remains below pre-pandemic levels, specifically in 2019, which is About 100 million barrels per day.

The newspaper's report indicates that the losses are due to three main factors, namely the decline in demand for jet fuel, the decrease in shipping traffic and the decline in manufacturing activity.

display operator ... complex scene

Moving to the other side of the supply and demand equation, the supply of crude in world markets will also play a decisive element in determining the future of crude prices.

and the collapse in prices over the past year caused a sharp decline in investments in the sector and a painful blow to the US shale oil sector, with the rate of oil production in the United States falling to about 11.3 million barrels per day during This year, compared to 12.3 million barrels in 2019.

The International Energy Agency expects that production outside OPEC will increase this year by about 500 thousand barrels per day after ...