The energy sector has been a disaster zone this year, as the coronavirus pandemic has decimated global oil demand. Negative oil prices were an anomaly, a function of a timing mismatch between the pace of demand reduction and that of supply reduction: the issue seems to be being resolved, with demand improving, supply shrinking, and a well-publicized change in the contract duration of this ETF’s holdings. The cuts agreed to are starting from a base level in October 2018, so the effective cut is more like 7.1 million barrels. The cuts negotiated for the second half of the year and extending through April 2022 are perhaps more meaningful.
