“The expectation is that the group will hold production steady also in May given current physical oil market weakness,” according to Bjarne Schieldrop, analyst at SEB.
Under its current agreement, the OPEC+ group is enforcing a drastic output cut, meaning seven million barrels that could be shipped to markets every day are being left in the ground. Indeed, the two benchmark contracts, American WTI and Europe’s Brent, have undergone a drastic price correction in recent weeks and have been subjected to fresh price instability over the last few days, a sign of serious market tension.At the beginning of the year, the arrival of effective coronavirus vaccines had led to hopes that widespread lockdowns, and with them, the collapse in demand that has been a nightmare for the cartel, might soon be over.
The International Energy Agency reflected this more downbeat outlook in forecasts contained in its last report this month.Saudi ‘prudence’