The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said in its monthly report that the market’s strength will persist, even as central banks tighten monetary policy. Stockpiles are considerably below their five-year average, the group’s data show.
OPEC repeated its prediction from last month that “the impact of the omicron variant is projected to be mild and short-lived” – a projection that has so far been vindicated.
The bullish outlook from OPEC’s Vienna-based research department ought to reassure the producers when they gather early next month.
OPEC and its partners – a 23-nation alliance led by Saudi Arabia and Russia – have been returning the output they halted during the pandemic in gradual installments.
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Yet this too has been a bullish catalyst for crude markets as the coalition fails to increase at its planned pace, with a number of members hindered by under-investment and unrest.
In December, OPEC’s members added just 166,000 barrels a day, compared with a target of 250,000 a day, the report showed. Nigeria saw its output fall once again.
OPEC kept forecasts for global oil demand and supply this year largely unchanged from last month’s report.
Photo: Bloomberg
