Opec crude output was steady at 32.6mn b/d in July with Saudi rowing back on plans to hike output saying the market is well supplied. Whether or not it has a point depends on whose demand forecasts you believe.
Keenly-watched forecasts of the global oil supply/demand balance from the IEA and Opec moved towards alignment for 2019 in the respective organizations’ recently-released August market reports. The IEA hiked its forecast for the 2019 ‘call on Opec crude’ – the volumes it reckons Opec will have to produce to balance the market – to 31.90mn b/d (though two-thirds of its nominal 460,000 b/d increase is due to shifting new Opec member Congo from the ‘non-Opec’ to Opec category). (CONTINUED - 786 WORDS)
