With more supply set to hit the oil market this year, will demand be enough to absorb the excess? If not, crude inventories will rise, likely putting further downward pressure on prices.

A decline in oil prices would have significant implications, easing fuel costs for drivers and helping to curb inflationary pressures.

However, if prices fall too low, producers may cut output due to financial disincentives, potentially setting the stage for a sharp price rebound in the future.

The longest streak of consecutive declines in WTI crude futures ended Tuesday at 12 straight days, leaving the oil market wondering: what just happened?

Talk of $100 oil was on the lips of some analysts in early autumn. Then came October. WTI crude fell 10.8%, its biggest monthly percentage drop since July 2016. Nor did the losses end there.

This week saw a major storm over the Persian Gulf. Literally. Heavy rains caused flooding in Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran.

It seems those dark clouds could also serve as a metaphor. The unusual weather for the region coincided with Washington restoring sanctions against Tehran that were lifted under the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

The sanctions cover Iran’s energy, banking, shipping, and shipbuilding industries.

The US renewal of sanctions against Iran, effective Monday, will keep the market’s focus on the the impact that Washington’s efforts to penalize Tehran are having on the global oil market.

There have already been significant shifts in flows. One example is Iran boosting crude exports to the Chinese port of Dalian where bonded tanks are located.

How fast can US pipelines get built? That question has been asked this autumn at conferences around the world.

It’s no wonder. The Permian Basin has arguably become the global swing supplier. Production has soared, helping offset supply declines from OPEC.

ITHACA, NY - October 29, 2018 – Airbus Defence and Space will continue to provide access to its radar satellite data to Ursa Space Systems (Ursa), a data fusion and analytics company. Both parties signed a new four-year contract after having started their cooperation in 2015.

Ursa's weekly crude inventory data for Cushing has a strong correlation to EIA's weekly data for this location. This complementary white paper demonstrates the correlation and reliability of Ursa's data, which comes out days ahead of EIA data.

The Ursa Team road trip continued this week. Fresh from the Platts North American Crude Export Conference, we flew to Geneva to attend the Argus Global Crude Summit.

Monitoring the global oil supply chain involves more than just analyzing weekly SAR images.

Our team also keeps tabs on important events that could impact the oil market, then we match that with our SAR data to deliver more impactful information to our users.

Follows CEO Adam Maher's 2011 SSPI Promise Award