Oil rises from the ashes as the big virus recovery trade

Brent crude topped $50 a barrel last week for the first time since March, a milestone for an oil market that’s been grinding its way back out of a deep slump for months.

Things aren’t back to normal yet, but the positive signals are proliferating. The enormous glut of fuel that accumulated this year on everything from tiny barges to giant supertankers is being steadily depleted.

While the coronavirus pandemic is worse than ever in the US, demand in Europe is bouncing back as a second wave of lockdowns eases and Asia continues to pull in huge volumes of crude.

But there’s more to this than a realignment of supply and demand — huge financial flows are also driving the…