The oil market has rarely been so quiet. Benchmark Brent has traded in a narrow range of $5 either side of $110 per barrel since the summer of 2012. Price volatility has fallen to some of the lowest levels since crude futures markets were established in the early 1980s. Oil prices have rarely been so stable for so long since the 1973 oil shock ended the long period of calm in the 1950s and 1960s and ushered in the era of OPEC dominance. Measured volatility in front-month Brent futures prices has been below average continuously for almost two years.