There's "no room" to achieve higher oil prices by cutting production, Kuwait Oil Minister Ali Al-Omair has told the official Kuwait News Agency. Al-Omair's remarks follow a report that Saudi Arabia is ready to accept oil prices below $90 per barrel, and even as low as $80, for up to a year or two. "Saudi Arabia doesn't want to lose market share in Asia," says industry expert Olivier Jakob. "They are increasingly giving signs they won't do it on their own."

The International Energy Agency has sharply cut its forecast for oil demand, predicting that it will grow by 700,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2014 vs a previous estimate of 0.9M bpd. For 2015, the agency expects demand to grow 1.1M bpd to 93.5M, with the expansion 300,000 bpd less than previously thought. "Recent price drops appear both supply and demand driven. Further oil price drops would likely be needed for supply to take a hit – or for demand growth to get a lift," the IEA says.