Ashton Whiteley - OPEC Cuts Support Oil Amid Global Economic Uncertainty
Ashton Whiteley - Oil market outlook unclear as economic uncertainty mounts.
SHANGHAI, January 17, 2019 (Newswire.com) - As indications pointing to a global economic slowdown place pressure on oil prices, OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) led supply cuts have provided a much-needed boost.
On Wednesday, Brent Crude prices declined but were supported by the supply cuts and remained above $60 per barrel.
Ashton Whiteley analysts say prices have been negatively impacted by disappointing trade data out of China which revealed a decline in imports and exports as the trade tariffs imposed by the US during the course of last year begin to take their toll.
The global economic outlook was further clouded after UK Prime Minister Theresa May suffered a historic defeat in the House of Commons in which Members of Parliament rejected a Brexit deal that has been two years in the making.
In its most recent report containing projections for this year and next, the US Energy Information Administration stated that crude oil production in the US is forecast to reach 12 million barrels per day in 2019.
Ashton Whiteley analysts say the OPEC-led cuts may offer only a temporary reprieve as global demand and the threat of oversupply provide the biggest risk to oil prices.
OPEC and its allies decided to implement supply cuts of 1.2 million barrels per day late last year in an effort to boost the market, but with US oil production reaching record highs and rising uncertainty over the global economic outlook, Ashton Whiteley analysts say the future of the oil market remains unclear.
Source: Ashton Whiteley