Brent reached its annual peak of $92.18 on April 12. Yesterday it settled at $83.27/bbl having been as low as $81.05/bb on Wednesday. The burning, albeit rhetorical, question is whether the summit will be re-visited first or another $10/bbl will be shed as optimism has seemingly gone AWOL.
It has been obvious for a month now that the sentiment on the physical market has considerably deteriorated. Not only have outright prices retreated but structures have weakened, the European crude oil benchmark is now printing below its forward peer whilst it commanded a premium of more than $2/bbl mid-April.
Downtrend has more than one definition. A chart reader would tell you that it is characterized by consecutive lower highs and lower lows. A seasoned trader would argue that what it means in practice is to sell rallies but not buy dips with the same zeal.
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