BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 8. The US and International Energy Agency (IEA) oil release has helped ease concerns about market shortage, Trend reports with reference to Fitch Solutions.
“Western sanctions on Russia continue to evolve, while a growing number of countries are enacting oil import bans, most recently Poland. Exports are also facing further losses, due to operational disruptions related to the conflict, as well as the number of (largely Western) companies reducing trade with Russia. On the bearish side of supply the US strategic petroleum reserve release of 180mn barrels over the next six months along with further releases from the IEA partners of 60mn barrels (to a total of 90mn barrels including commitments made earlier but excluding the US share) have helped to ease concerns about market shortages,” Fitch Solutions said in its latest report.
While Covid-19 lockdowns in China continue to keep optimism at bay given wide expectations for a material impact on economic activity and crude consumption.
“Brent crude prices have fallen for the second week in a row, down 4.3 percent from a week earlier after losing over 8 percent the previous week, to reach around USD103/bbl at the time of writing. Supply-side uncertainties remain extremely high with sentiment tilted to undersupply keeping the spectre of elevated prices at the forefront in the near-term. For now, our annual average price forecast for Brent crude in 2022 remains steady at USD100/bbl after a hefty revision at the start of the month from USD82/bbl,” the report says.
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