Light, sweet crude oil prices fell slightly on the New York market Mar. 28 and Brent crude oil for May nudged down by only a penny on the London market while investors watched for more definite indicators regarding future oil supply and demand worldwide.
“If OPEC cannot decide on its strategy or its target more than a couple months in advance, the continued absence of a long-term plan will likely lead to sharp price volatility in the lead up to the next meeting in June,” of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Barclays said.
In a Mar. 29 Blue Drum research note, Barclays’ Michael Cohen said Barclays analysts expected world oil demand will grow 1.3 million b/d in 2019 compared with 2018.
“Most of this should come from US, China, India, and Brazil,” Cohen said, adding the biggest downside to Barclays forecast would be a sharper-than-expected slowing of the economies of the world’s largest oil consumers, particularly China.
Barclays noted oil demand growth prospects in India and Brazil look better in 2019 than in 2018.
“We now expect global oil demand to grow 1.25 million b/d,” in 2019 vs. 2018, Cohen said, forecasting that China will lead oil demand growth worldwide (up 460,000 b/d), India (280,000 b/d), and US (260,000 b/d).
Energy prices
The May contract for light, sweet crude oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange decreased 11¢ to settle at $59.30/bbl on Mar. 28. The June contract fell 13¢ to settle at $59.48/bbl.
NYMEX natural gas for April nudged down less than 1¢ to remain at $2.71/MMbtu.
Ultralow-sulfur diesel for April dropped nearly 1¢ to $1.97/gal. The NYMEX reformulated gasoline blendstock for April fell 1.5¢ to a rounded $1.98/gal. The April contracts for those products expired with the end of trading on May 29.
Brent crude for May delivery edged down 1¢ to $67.82 while the June contract fell 14¢ to settle at $67.10/bbl.
The gas oil contract for April dropped $8.25 to settle at $600/tonne on Mar. 28. OPEC’s basket of crudes decreased by 77¢ to average $66.38/bbl on Mar. 28.
Contact Paula Dittrick at [email protected]