Weekly Review

Last week was the most active in many months as oil prices, widely believed to be stuck in a narrow trading range for the foreseeable future, plunged some 8 percent in the last three days of trading. The price decline was triggered by an unexpected build of 8.2 million barrels in US crude stocks along with growing concern about increases in the US oil rig count. The week was highlighted by the annual “CERAWeek” conference in Houston which was attended by oil ministers and CEOs of oil companies from around the world. Many took advantage of the meeting to express opinions or issue warnings about where the global oil industry was headed.

On Thursday last week NY oil prices fell to near the bottom of the $52.50-$54.50 trading range they have been stuck in since early January. On Friday a falling dollar pushed prices higher to close at $53.33 in New York and $55.22 in London. There was much discussion last week about the status of OPEC’s production cuts and how they were being achieved. Much of the cut seems to be coming from the Saudis whose production was down by 90,000 b/d during February to 9.78 million. Overall OPEC production, however, only fell by 65,000 b/d during February. Ecuador, Venezuela, Angola, the UAE, and Iraq are still well below their targets under the production cut agreement. The Saudis finished February with a production cut of 157 percent of their target which was enough to bring all of OPEC close to its goal. The non-OPEC exporters participating in the cuts seemed to have implemented around 66 percent of their targeted cut.

Oil prices moved to the top of their trading range last week as many traders believe prices are about to move higher. Even though the EIA reported that US oil stocks rose the week before last by 600,000 barrels to an all-time high of 518 million barrels, some traders are saying that we have reached the end of the buildup in US crude stocks which has been going on for the last two months. A drop in US crude imports is being interpreted as the result of the OPEC production cut. Many are expecting that US crude inventories will continue to fall on lower imports and increased US crude exports, which are now up to circa 1.2 million b/d, the highest on record. The surge in exports of crude seems to be due to lower availability of OPEC crude in Asia, and the gap between Brent and US crude prices which have averaged $2.24 in recent trading.

Oil prices have moved little since they jumped from the mid-$40s to the mid-$50s in late November. Last week was no exception. OPEC hints about extending the price cuts beyond mid-year supported prices last week despite several indicators which suggested that the surplus may continue and it may be difficult to rebalance the markets in the short term.

Oil prices rebounded last week as the IEA confirmed that the ten OPEC members obligated to cut oil production are making good progress and obtained 91 percent of their goal by the end of January. The agency also reported that OECD crude stocks fell by nearly 800,000 b/d in the 4th quarter of 2016 although stocks continued to grow in China and other emerging economies. If OPEC and the other production cutters can maintain this level of cuts for the next five months, the IEA says that global stockpiles should drop by about 600,000 b/d during the first half of this year. This was the kind of news that many oil speculators wanted to hear. Hedge fund bets on higher oil prices have surged in recent weeks as many markets participants say they are expecting higher oil prices later this year.