The anti-freeze in the oil market
A lack of agreement in Doha over freezing oil production sent the oil bulls rushing to unwind their positions.
Oil bulls suffered a nasty setback early this week. Before last weekend's meeting in Doha, aimed at freezing output, optimism over a deal propelled net long positions bets on continued oil price rises in the futures market to a record high. But there was no agreement after all: Saudi Arabia insisted it wouldn't freeze output if Iran didn't do the same which it wouldn't. Hedge funds rushed to unwind their bets, exacerbating the fall in prices. Brent crude slipped by 7% to $40 a barrel before bouncing back.
A freeze "was never an option for Tehran", says BreakingViews.com's Andy Critchlow. Having just emerged from international isolation, now that sanctions are being eased it wants to regain market share and boost production to pre-embargo levels. This is bad news for Iraq, Nigeria and Venezuela in particular, who are forfeiting around $465m in daily revenue at today's prices.
The "anti-freeze" may have dented sentiment, and exposed stark divisions in oil cartel Opec, says Helen Thomas in The Wall Street Journal, but it hasn't changed the fundamental story. Countries discussing a freeze, notably Iraq, Russia and Saudi Arabia, were already producing at record levels, so it would have made scant difference to the global glut. The market continues to undergo "slow self-repair", very gradually working off the surplus.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
For starters, non-Opec supply is falling. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), 2016 will see 57 million barrels per day from this source, down from a forecast of 57.8 million six months ago. The key here is US shale production, which the Saudis have been trying to put out of business by flooding the market and making prices fall.
Shale has been more resilient than expected, but the number of drilling rigs has slumped and America's daily crude output has fallen below 9 million barrels per day for the first time in 18 months. It's fallen by 600,000 barrels in the past year. Output has also slipped in China and Latin America, while an industrial dispute has hit Kuwait this week.
On the demand side, says Liam Halligan in The Sunday Telegraph, the IEA thinks global demand should climb by 1.3% in 2016, with India close to eclipsing China as the main driver of demand. The upshot? The global surplus of around 1.5 million barrels could dwindle to 200,000 in the second half of the year, reckons the IEA.
One imponderable is how quickly shale could come back: as the FT notes, many producers have been so good at cutting costs they should be profitable if the price returns to $50 a barrel. But for now, oil has probably bottomed, and the slow recovery in prices is likely to endure.
Sign up to Money Morning
Our team, led by award winning editors, is dedicated to delivering you the top news, analysis, and guides to help you manage your money, grow your investments and build wealth.
Andrew is the editor of MoneyWeek magazine. He grew up in Vienna and studied at the University of St Andrews, where he gained a first-class MA in geography & international relations.
After graduating he began to contribute to the foreign page of The Week and soon afterwards joined MoneyWeek at its inception in October 2000. He helped Merryn Somerset Webb establish it as Britain’s best-selling financial magazine, contributing to every section of the publication and specialising in macroeconomics and stockmarkets, before going part-time.
His freelance projects have included a 2009 relaunch of The Pharma Letter, where he covered corporate news and political developments in the German pharmaceuticals market for two years, and a multiyear stint as deputy editor of the Barclays account at Redwood, a marketing agency.
Andrew has been editing MoneyWeek since 2018, and continues to specialise in investment and news in German-speaking countries owing to his fluent command of the language.
-
Energy bills to rise by 1.2% in January 2025
Energy bills are set to rise 1.2% in the New Year when the latest energy price cap comes into play, Ofgem has confirmed
By Dan McEvoy Published
-
Should you invest in Trainline?
Ticket seller Trainline offers a useful service – and good prospects for investors
By Dr Matthew Partridge Published