Forecasters Backtrack on the Need for More OPEC Crude Oil
Rising non-OPEC supply and weaker demand growth undermine the need for OPEC crude
The U.S. administration of President Joe Biden has received little support from the world’s biggest oil forecasters for its call to the OPEC producer group to open the taps wider to support the global recovery. Far from echoing the call for more crude, they have all cut their estimates of how much of the group’s oil will be needed to balance the market in the coming quarters.
The International Energy Agency, the U.S. Energy Information Administration and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries have pared back their assessments of the need for OPEC crude in almost every quarter out to the end of 2022. The two upward revisions in the 18 forecasts have been tiny.