A Healthy Dose of Scepticism
Of course, one should never get carried away. Investing in oil is not for the faint of heart. What geopolitics gives, it can take away just as quickly, and a sudden diplomatic breakthrough could see prices tumble. These are cyclical businesses, forever lashed to the mast of a volatile commodity. However, the potential for this rally to have sturdier legs than usual shouldn't be dismissed. Years of underinvestment have left the global energy supply with precious little spare capacity. This means that any genuine disruption, or even the continued threat of one, could keep prices elevated for longer than we might expect. It’s a risky dance, to be sure, but one that investors should be watching very closely indeed.