World News
OPEC Again Downsizes 2016 Forecast, Warns of Deeper Cuts
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has trimmed estimates for demand growth in 2016 by 50,000 barrels per day (bpd) and warns that deeper cuts could be in the offing.
OPEC's Vienna-based secretariat stated in its April monthly market report that global oil demand will average 94.18 million bpd this year, and that 2016's growth rate of 1.2 million bpd is down from 1.54 million a day in 2015.
The cartel cited a slowdown in consumption of industrial fuels and middle distillates in China and Latin America as the cause, and it warned that weakness in Brazil's economy, the removal of fuel subsidies in the Middle East, and milder winter temperatures in the northern hemisphere could prompt further cutbacks.
The secretariat stated, "Current negative factors seem to outweigh positive ones and possibly imply downward revisions in oil demand growth, should existing signs persist going forward.
"Economic developments in Latin America and China are of concern."
OPEC does, however, believe that "positive market sentiments continue to arise" from the proposal by members and non-members to freeze production output, even though an impending meeting of the two parties in Doha next week has been ridiculed by many high-profile analysts as ineffective at best, and a catalyst for bearish prices at worst.
Last month, OPEC cited global economic uncertainty as one of the reasons for reducing its 2016 demand forecast for its crude by 100,000 bpd compared to its February estimate, to 31.5 million bpd.
Key Bunker Prices More
| VLSFO | MGO | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $/mt | +/- | $/mt | +/- | |
| Singapore | 649.00 | 0.00 | 770.00 | 5.00 |
| Rotterdam | 602.50 | 1.00 | 762.00 | 2.50 |
| Houston | 630.50 | 4.00 | 796.50 | 2.50 |
| Fujairah | 648.50 | 0.50 | 900.00 | 4.50 |
| Global 20 Ports Average | 666.00 | 2.00 | 856.00 | 1.00 |
| Global 4 Ports Average | 632.50 | 0.50 | 807.00 | 1.00 |
| Global Average Bunker Price | 715.50 | 1.00 | 893.00 | 8.00 |
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