On the evening of April 9th, Beijing time, OPEC as well as its allies held a video conference. One of the agendas that has caught global attention is to discuss the production reduction agreement. Whatever the outcome of the meeting is, large fluctuations in the crude oil price won’t stop.The current round of sharp rise and fall of oil prices has become a farce of the game among countries. It is not the market fundamentals that influence the oil price, but the main players’ strategic behaviors. Due to the existence of some manipulations, the oil market is very opaque. The simple judgment on the supply and demand fundamentals at the technical level cannot accurately predict the market trend, and the market participants will become the victims of various games. When the invisible hand is replaced by the visible hand in the market economy, the market rules formed over the years will be broken, and the uncertainty will be further strengthened in the future.Chinese oil companies and policy makers need to be more aware of these changes in the international market and take positive measures. On the one hand, we should think about how to actively participate in the game of international crude oil market; on the other hand, we should make a sound to protect our own interests.
