World News
IEA: Oil Markets Close to Balance in H2 2016
The International Energy Agency (IEA) Thursday said it predicts that in the second half of 2016 oil markets will "move close to balance" with oversupply diminishing to just 200,000 barrels a day (bpd) from 1.5 million bpd.
A big slide in U.S. shale oil will be the key driver for this, it says, as non-Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) production is expected to fall this year to 57 million bpd.
"There is no doubt as to the direction of travel for the supply-demand balance," said IEA.
"There are signs that the much-anticipated slide in production of light, tight oil in the U.S. is gathering pace."
IEA also added its voice to the many saying that the upcoming oil production freeze meeting in Doha will likely be meaningless in terms of market impact.
"If there is to be a production freeze, rather than a cut, the impact on physical oil supplies will be limited," it said.
IEA's latest view represents a much surer outlook than the one recently presented by Neil Atkinson, head of IEA's oil industry and markets division, who last month told delegates at the Singapore International Energy Week 2016 (SIEW) that the dynamics of the U.S. shale sector were making it extremely difficult to forecast how oil prices will react in the future.
Key Bunker Prices More
| VLSFO | MGO | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $/mt | +/- | $/mt | +/- | |
| Singapore | 510.00 | 2.50 | 611.00 | 4.00 |
| Rotterdam | 477.00 | 1.00 | 618.50 | 4.00 |
| Houston | 469.50 | 0.50 | 610.00 | 2.00 |
| Fujairah | 501.50 | 1.50 | 708.50 | 3.50 |
| Global 20 Ports Average | 532.00 | 2.00 | 711.50 | 0.00 |
| Global 4 Ports Average | 489.50 | 0.50 | 637.00 | 0.50 |
| Global Average Bunker Price | 571.00 | 1.00 | 759.00 | 0.50 |
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