Quarterly oil Market Update (Q3 2016): Are Oil Markets better off with OPEC cuts?
Oil Market ReportOPECs decision to announce, but not to implement, a cut in production immediately sent Brent oil prices up 6 percent at the end of September. Prices were further supported by statements from Russia expressing its readiness to cooperate in order to limit oil output. OPEC plans on meeting in November, when the extent of OPEC cuts and individual country quotas are to be decided. Whilst the deal to cut remains fragile and fraught with numerous obstacles, as a result of the financial difficulty faced by a number of OPEC member economies, most notably Venezuela, Nigeria and Libya, there will be immense pressure to ensure some sort of deal is reached in November. In this context, we see the most likely outcome being an agreement to cut production, but only by a small amount, more akin to a production freeze rather than an outright cut. Such an agreement would underline OPECs intention to limit further rises in production and help stabilize oil prices at current levels (around $50 per barrel).
Quarterly Oil Market Update (Q4-2015):Oil prices are going to be lower for longer
Oil Market ReportThe current period of low prices is set to remain throughout 2016, pulled down primarily as a result of persistently high oil supply. All-out competition between members of OPEC will be the main reason for continued oversupplied markets. We expect to see OPEC production rising by a further 500 thousand barrels per day (tbpd) by Q4 2016 year-on-year with most of the rises coming from increased Iranian supply. Meanwhile, recently downward revised global economic growth forecasts by the IMF point to moderate yearly growth in oil demand. All of these factors have led us to cut our full year 2016 Brent forecast to $33 per barrel (pb), from $47 pb previously, and 2017 forecast to $44 pb from 58 pb previously.
