WTI crude oil is trading at $63.4 per barrel.
Stocks of oil accumulated in storage facilities around the world due to the coronavirus pandemic are coming to an end, and prices may rise sharply in the second half of 2021. This is reported by Bloomberg with reference to the data of the International Energy Agency. According to analysts, demand will continue to grow, which will lead to an increase in prices to $74 per barrel for Brent. As of June 2020, there were 249 million more barrels of oil in storage than the average for 2015-2019. By February 2021, this figure has decreased fivefold, and the surplus will soon dry up, the IEA predicts. The remaining reserves are almost entirely concentrated in China. In the US, the storage capacity does not exceed pre-crisis values. Experts note that the OPEC+ deal, extended on April 1, will help meet the demand for oil products. By July, the countries will increase oil production by 1.15 million barrels per day, which will cover the growing demand.
Meanwhile, OPEC+ ministers are discussing a shortened format of negotiations at the end of April, and may abandon the ministerial meeting, leaving only a meeting of the ministerial monitoring committee. The co-chairs of the alliance, Russia and Saudi Arabia, have not yet made a decision on this matter. Since the beginning of January, OPEC+ countries meet once a month and determine production levels only for the next month. This practice was initiated in order to be able to respond more quickly to the market situation. Prior to this, ministerial meetings were held every three months or even less frequently.
WTI Trading Signal
In the forecast, the WTI oil price is expected to decline to the support level of $62.50 per barrel.