Crude oil volatility index rose to highest level

Oil prices are continuing their rollercoaster ride. A more than 25% surge in price in the space of just three days of trading was followed yesterday by an 8% decline. Prices fell further overnight, as compared with the highs achieved two days ago, oil prices have meanwhile shed as much as 10% again. 

Brent is currently trading at less than $49 per barrel, while WTI is priced at $44.5 per barrel. The volatility index for crude oil has all but doubled in the past two weeks and reached its highest level since mid-March yesterday. 

"It is therefore virtually impossible to make any reliable predictions about near-term price performance at the moment, indeed such predictions hardly have even a half-life of a few hours right now", says Commerzbank.