Oil steadies despite threat of a potential supply glut
Opec is still mulling a 1.4-million bpd cut next year, though some analysts think it should be higher, as US crude inventories continue to rise
London — Oil prices steadied on Thursday, having lost nearly 7% over the previous three days, but concern over the prospect of an oversupplied market next year remained in spite of oil cartel Opec’s message that it may cut crude output. Opec, led by Saudi Arabia, is considering a cut of up to 1.4-million barrels per day (bpd) next year to avoid the kind of build-up in global inventories that prompted the oil price to crash between 2014 and 2016. Brent crude oil futures were virtually flat on the day at $66.13 a barrel at 10.35am GMT, while US crude futures were down 34c at $55.91. “[A cut] helps, but based on my balances, I think we’ll need to see 1.5-million bpd at least for the first half of the year. Words aren’t going to work. The market is going to need to see action as well,” said ING commodities strategist Warren Patterson. This week, the International Energy Agency (IEA) and Opec warned of a sizeable surplus at least in the first half of 2019, and possibly beyond, given the ...
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