It’s been one year since the bombshell announcement of positive test results for Pfizer Inc.’s COVID-19 vaccine jolted stocks higher. Since that day, no sector has soared faster than energy.
This was something of a bungee-cord snapback. COVID-19’s lockdowns and general economic mayhem had ravaged oil demand, to the point that Nymex futures actually closed below zero for the first time ever. Until news of the vaccine broke, energy had been the worst performing sector in 2020, falling by more than half.
Since then, oil prices have rallied surprisingly hard, with Brent crude back above $80 a barrel for the first time in three years. Whereas a year ago we were drowning in the stuff, the White House may soon announce a release of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to cool things off.