FINANCIAL TIMES: …Ian Taylor, chief executive of Vitol, the world’s largest independent oil trading house, said on Thursday that official estimates on consumption had been overshooting actual demand and suggested the cheapest oil since 2009 could linger
“Over the last few months it’s become increasingly clear that demand predictions have been and continue to be consistently on the high side,” he told the Platts Global Energy Outlook Forum in New York….
Mr Taylor’s comments echoed others in the physical oil market. Alex Beard, head of oil at the commodities trading house Glencore, said at an investor day on Wednesday that “We are in for a period of low prices and capital discipline across the market”, although he warned that the lower prices went the sharper the eventual rebound would be… (more)
EDITOR: The oil markets have been rigged by theOPEC cartel since the Carter Administration. Apparently, due to new finds, refining of tar oils, and Marcellus Shale, the cartel could not maintain its power to set prices.
Also, it was in the interest of the USA and other major oil providers to have oil prices plummet to discipline Russia President Vladislav Putin. With his economy already reeling from sanctions, he doesn’t seem so threatening any longer.
