Quarterly Oil Market Update – Q4 2018: (Oil price roller coaster)
Oil Market ReportLower OPEC output and hopes of some progress over the US-China trade dispute have helped Brent prices recover to around $60 pb recently, although the outlook on oil demand remains subdued. According to latest OPEC forecasts, global oil demand will grow by 1.29 million barrels per day (mbpd) in 2019, the lowest rate of growth since 2013.
Quarterly Oil Market Update – Q4 2017: (Downward Pressure on Oil Prices)
Oil Market ReportA brighter outlook for the global economy and tighter oil markets had seen Brent oil prices rise 18 percent quarter-on-quarter in Q4 2017, to $62 per barrel (pb), with prices continue to rally to $70 pb in January 2018, the highest level since November 2014.
Quarterly Oil Market Update: All eyes on OPEC and the US
Oil Market ReportCurrently, Brent oil is trading at around $55 per barrel, with little deviation from this level in the last two months. This stability in prices is mainly due to coordinated action by OPEC and some non-OPEC members, with January crude oil production data showing OPECs oil output was down, month-on-month, by 900 thousand barrels per day. Despite the relatively stable start to the year, oil price volatility is likely to re-emerge during 2017 as global oil markets face up to a rising risk of OPEC noncompliance to production cuts, upward revisions in US oil production, and policy initiatives from the new US administration.
