SINGAPORE - Uncertainties surrounding the global economy, a prolonged trade war between the United States and China and increasing U.S. supplies are expected to weigh on oil prices this year, executives at a key industry conference said on Monday.
Instead, Brent crude oil futures rose to as high as about $86 per barrel in October 2018 before dropping to a low of nearly $50 in December and recovering to nearly $62 currently. The trade dispute between the United States and China, the world’s top oil consumers, has dampened oil prices, though production cuts led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and Russia have supported the market.
Still, despite OPEC production cuts, oil is well supplied, with U.S. crude production increasing by 1.4 million bpd and covering demand increase, said Shunichi Tanaka, president of Japan’s Cosmo Oil. Record shale production is also having repercussions in the crude oil market with the seaborne crude slate becoming lighter and sweeter, causing a mismatch within most refining systems geared toward medium, sour oil, Vitol’s Serio said.
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