Oil shortage...really?14 Dec 2018 14:24
International Energy Agency
April 20, 2018 4:21 p.m.
Oil prices have rallied so far this year, as OPEC-led efforts have helped erase a big global surplus. Now, the market may soon face a shortage of crude supplies that would support further price gains.
Stockpiles of the commodity among the industrialized nations that make up the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development stood at 2.84 billion barrels at the end of February, only 30 million barrels above the five-year average, according to a report from the International Energy Agency.
βThe global market has tightened considerably in recent months,β says Matthew Parry, head of long-term research at research consultancy Energy Aspects. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is βvery close to achieving its originally stated aim of bringing OECD stocks back to parity with their five-year average.β
βWhat we are seeing happening, and will occur much more frequently going forward, is that one-off [supply issues or threats] will start to have a more pronounced impact upon prices,β says Parry.