Front-month Brent futures finished trading at $81 per barrel on April 25, after hitting a high of $87 on April 12, though still up from a recent low of just $73 on March 17.
Instead, real prices have come under pressure from concerns about slowing growth and increasing interest rates, with the decline consistent with a significant cyclical downturn. Futures prices are signalling a market slightly weaker than normal, while spreads are signalling the opposite, most likely because current consumption is slack but expected to bounce back later in 2023.
Volatility briefly spiked following the announcement, but has since retreated near to its long-term average, showing most of the financial impact has been absorbed. Even before the cut was announced, the total number of hedge fund and other money manager short positions in Brent and WTI had fallen from a high of 204 million barrels on March 21 to 159 million by March 28.
In the past, Saudi Arabia's oil minister has described surprise production cuts intended to discourage hedge fund short selling as "ouching".