The biggest exogenous shock over the past month was undoubtedly the slump in crude oil prices. Nowadays volatility on the oil market is very high and the ongoing erosion of oil investments could prevent prices sliding to new lows. Prices are being maintained up by speculation about a possible reduction of excess supply by top producers.

Russia's Energy Minister Alexander Novak said he is ready to discuss Saudi Arabia's proposal to cut oil production by 5%. A cut of this size would mean around 500,000 barrels per day for non-OPEC member Russia, one of the largest oil producers outside OPEC. 

A production cut would help offset concerns of oversupply issues, which led to oil prices dropping to 12-year lows of around $27 a barrel early in January 2016, down from the high of $115 per barrel seen around 18 months ago.