The OPEC Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR), released earlier today, stated that, according to both primary and secondary sources, OPEC production fell slightly in Feb compared to the previous month.
The vast majority of the fall in OPEC's production came from three of its most volatile members, Iraq, Libya and Nigeria.
Capital Economics notes in a report on Monday:
- The upshot is that the recent falls in OPEC's production are due to involuntary temporary factors and don't represent a policy decision to cut output to support prices. Indeed, supply should continue to be ample over the next year.
- But we expect lower growth in non-OPEC production and higher demand to put some upward pressure on oil prices in 2016. Our end-2015 and end-2016 forecasts for a barrel of Brent are $60 and $65 respectively.
