Two reasons: reluctant investors and potential regulations.

OPEC and its allies are scheduled to meet Thursday as oil prices keep rising.

Demand is picking up as more and more people resume their normal lives after vaccination.

OPEC and its allies are having trouble coming to an agreement, because individual countries see thing differently.

Ramping up production when demand is still weak could have major consequences on a relatively stable oil market.

OPEC countries, plus Russia, met Monday amid fears that the next wave of the pandemic will pummel demand.

Oil’s recovery will depend on how the pandemic plays out, and whether there will be a second wave of illness.

Demand for oil is falling so quickly that even a reduction in supply will take some time to affect markets.

How bloody the shakeout becomes likely depends on how long crude prices stay in the basement.

There was talk that OPEC and Russia might together cut the world’s supply of oil by one million barrels a day.