A sustained price rally has pushed the West Texas Intermediate crude oil benchmark above US$90—its highest level since 2014. Meanwhile, the Western Canadian Select benchmark closed Friday at US$78.37, just shy of CDN$100 per barrel.

Some analysts see the WTI price topping US$100 as global demand continues to rise while supply remains tight due to underinvestment in production over the last five years.

But, as we like to stress in The Owl, you never know for sure what will happen when it comes to oil prices.

One of the key geopolitical factors currently in play is the Iran nuclear deal. If sanctions on Iran are lifted, it could add up to 700,000 barrels per day of crude to the global market and, in turn, put downward pressure on prices this spring.

It’s also possible that a war in Ukraine could disrupt oil and gas supply from Russia and push prices higher.

Then there is the pandemic. At this point, concerns over the disruptive effects of the virus are not pulling oil prices down, but this could easily change.

These forces are beyond the control of us here in Alberta, so we will have to continue to watch anxiously from the sidelines as they bat around the price of our largest export.

Answer to the previous trivia question: Team Canada is fielding 215 athletes at Beijing 2022.

Today’s trivia question: How many gold medals did Canada win at the 2018 Winter Olympics?