The latest data published by OPEC show why the kingdom’s supply squeeze, amid a period of record demand, has sent oil prices surging beyond $90 a barrel in London. Riyadh announced last week it will extend an extra 1 million-barrel-a-day output reduction until the end of the year, even though markets are already tightening.
World oil inventories, having depleted sharply this quarter, are set for an even steeper drop of roughly 3.3 million barrels a day in the next three months, forecasts published in a report from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries indicated on Tuesday.
If realized, it could be the biggest inventory drawdown since at least 2007, according to a Bloomberg analysis of figures published by OPEC’s Vienna-based secretariat.