Oil prices were flat yesterday after diving 13 per cent
since late May as rising production in the United States (U.S.) , Libya and
Nigeria have foiled an Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)-led
effort to support the market by cutting production.
Brent futures for August were down 4 cents, or 0.1 per cent,
at $47.33 a barrel, while U.S. crude for July was down 9 cents, or 0.2 per cent
at $44.65 per barrel the day before the July contract expires.
The premium of the Brent front-month over the same month for
WTI WTCLc1-LCOc1 is now at its highest since late May, when producers led by
the OPEC extended by nine months its pledge to cut output by 1.8 million
barrels per day.
“Lack of major upside price response to the OPEC output cuts
upping the odds of reduced compliance to the agreement in our opinion,” Jim
Ritterbusch, president of Chicago-based energy advisory firm Ritterbusch&
Associates, said in a note.
In spite of all these, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih
said the oil market is expected to balance in the fourth quarter of this year.
“The forecasts that the oil market will rebalance in the
fourth quarter have taken into consideration the rise in shale oil production,”
he said.
0 comments:
Post a Comment