Oil: A review of the market situation

Oil prices declined moderately today, which was associated with the decision of Saudi Arabia to reduce selling prices for Asian and American buyers, a week after the refusal to support the production cuts by OPEC.

Today oil company Saudi Aramco said that the official selling price of all grades of oil supplied to Asia in January, will be reduced by 1.5-1.9 per barrel compared to the December prices. Prices for all grades of oil supplied to the United States, were also reduced by 10-90 cents per barrel. Prices for all grades of oil supplied to the North-West Europe and the Mediterranean, were increased by 20-50 cents per barrel compared to the prices of December.

Experts Wall Street Journal, citing its sources, said that Saudi Arabia is not going to cut oil production and is regarded as acceptable for the price of a barrel of Brent yourself $ 60. "The largest oil producer in OPEC - Saudi Arabia said that oil prices can be stabilized in the area of 60 dollars per barrel. Riyadh and other Gulf countries are confident that they can sustain this price level "- the newspaper writes. According to sources, the newspaper, the current approach of Saudi Arabia, which occupies a key position in OPEC, means that in the short term it will not go on the decline in production, even if oil prices continue to fall.

It should also be emphasized that the decision of OPEC to cut production has led many experts to reduce oil price forecasts. Average forecast of 31 analysts and economists to Reuters Brent crude was down $ 11.20, compared with the November forecast to $ 82.50 per barrel in 2015. The forecast for 2016 was $ 87.40, and since the beginning of this year, the average price of Brent - $ 102,70 per barrel. The forecast average WTI price in 2015 decreased by $ 10 compared to the October survey, up to $ 78 per barrel. Since the beginning of this year, the average price of WTI was $ 96. "OPEC's decision to maintain production means excess oil. At the current level of production of OPEC market 1.5-2.0 million b / d of excess oil, "- said the strategist BNP Paribas Gareth Davies.

The course of trading and continues to influence the last report from the US Energy Information Administration. Recall zpasy US crude fell by 3.7 million barrels last week, with growth forecast at 1.3 million barrels. Inventories in Cushing, Oklahoma, fell by 694,000 barrels.

Cost of January futures for US light crude oil WTI (Light Sweet Crude Oil) dropped to 66.32 dollars per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

January futures price for North Sea Brent crude oil mix fell $ 0.64, to $ 69.35 a barrel on the London Stock Exchange ICE Futures Europe.