The world is facing its largest oil deficit in 15 years.
According to Bloomberg, a week ago the price of Brent oil exceeded $90 per barrel following Saudi Arabia’s decision to extend the production limit of one million barrels per day until the end of the year. On September 12, November futures exceeded $92 per barrel for the first time since November 2022.
Global oil inventories, which have fallen sharply this quarter, could fall even more, by about 3.3 million barrels per day, in the next three months. “If this happens, it would be the largest reduction in inventories since at least 2007,” the agency said.
Saudi Arabia’s strategy, a reduction in global oil supply by 300,000 barrels per day, which Russia supports, leads to new inflationary pressure. This quarter, OPEC countries produced an average of 27.4 million barrels per day, about 1.8 million less than consumers need. If OPEC maintains its stated production volume, the gap between supply and demand will almost double in the fourth quarter.