Energy Pulse: Vaccinations point the way to energy demand recovery

After a steady ascent since November, crude prices suffered a sharp reversal this week, dropping as much as 8% on Thursday alone. Nervousness over the pace of recovery in demand was one of the reasons. But with vaccine availability continuing to expand, albeit with occasional hiccoughs, it is looking increasingly likely that economic activity will continue to pick up through the year. Already, some real-time indicators of activity, including commercial flights, restaurant dining and searches for directions, have shown a strong rebound since the start of the year. Oil demand is on course to rise above 2019 levels by the end of next year. In other news Another view of a 1.5 °C world Texas argues over the cost of last month’s electricity crisis China’s leading role in battery raw materials