Oil Losing More Momentum After OPEC Cuts Demand Forecast

Oil prices fell for a second session today, Friday, to fall further from its highest level in a year after OPEC cut its demand forecast again, and the International Energy Agency said the market was still experiencing a surplus in supplies.

Brent crude fell 39 cents, or 0.6%, to $ 60.75 a barrel, after dropping half a percent in the previous session. US crude fell 44 cents, or 0.8%, to $ 57.80 a barrel, after falling 0.8% on Thursday.

The two benchmarks closed on Wednesday at their highest levels since January 2020 after successive near-record daily gains.

Oil prices have increased over the past few weeks as OPEC and other producers in the group known as OPEC+ cut production, while Saudi Arabia pledged a unilateral production cut that began this month.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said that oil demand around the world in 2021 will recover at a much slower rate than previously thought.

Earlier, the International Energy Agency said that oil supplies still exceeded global demand, but the distribution of anti-Covid-19 vaccines is expected to contribute to a recovery in demand.

According to the US Energy Information Administration, crude oil inventories in the United States fell unexpectedly last week, dropping more than six million barrels as refineries increased production to pre-pandemic levels.

Analysts in a Reuters poll had expected an increase of about one million barrels.