US oil prices (WTI) settled above US$50 per barrel on Monday, the first time for several months.  WTI futures rose 95% with many technical indicators showing a strong buy.  Likely automated trading followed the momentum.   Brent rose to US$50.20 a barrel in the ICE.

What drove this?  Likely a combination of rapidly declining US storage and the Saudi announcement that it will limit exports. The other drivers in the markets which is likely to limit the upside is US fracking which becomes increasingly profitable at these prices and recovery from the supply glut and the lack of OPEC restraint of the last few years.

We now have the perfect storm for speculative price moves, with declining inventories and a commitment to supply restriction plus continuing growth in demand.  While increasing US supply on any price uptick will see a cap on prices, the EIA announced that production in May was less than previously anticipated.