OPEC sticks to oil-demand view, flags US trade policy risks
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries stuck to its oil-demand forecast after reaffirming plans to gradually hike output from April, but said U.S. President Trump’s trade policy is injecting a dose of uncertainty into markets.
“The new U.S. Administration’s trade policy has added more uncertainty into markets, which has the potential to create supply-demand imbalances that are not reflective of market fundamentals, and therefore generate more volatility," the Vienna-based cartel said. OPEC still expects demand to grow by 1.45 million barrels a day this year and 1.43 million barrels a day the next, with strong air travel and road mobility boosting transportation fuel consumption.
The group’s overall forecast remains significantly more optimistic than others in the industry, with the International Energy Agency estimating this year’s growth at 1.05 million barrels a day. Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, traded around $76 a barrel, while the U.S. oil gauge West Texas Intermediate was around $72 a barrel in midday trade on Wednesday.
Both benchmarks slid on reports of a large build in U.S. crude stockpiles after rising in the previous session on signs of tighter Russian supplies and drone attacks against energy infrastructure in Russia and Ukraine. Future price direction remains uncertain, as traders keep their focus on U.S.
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