A rebalancing of the petrodollar is starting
As the latest multi-year rally in oil prices ends, a massive rebalancing of petrodollar is about to begin
Any price bounce in 2015 - spurred, say, by the kind of deep cuts in production that Opec introduced in 2008 - would leave Petroleum Economist’s annual petrodollar graphic looking as uneven as it has for the past few years. For now, it still shows the huge money transfer, from consumer to producer countries, which has characterised the past three years, when oil prices have averaged $111 a barrel. Even when the data next year catches up with the oil-price slump in the second half of 2014, the shape of the graphic will look similar. Despite the 40% plunge since June, Brent’s average price for the year up to the end of November was about $101/b.Triple-digit oil has been painful for consume
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