Crude Oil: OPEC production fell 80,000 bpd in November. A Bloomberg survey estimates that total OPEC production declined by 80,000 bpd in November compared to a month earlier, dropping to a six-month low. Output stood at 32.47 million barrels per day, the lowest total since May. Much of the decline was the result of a 100,000-bpd decline from Angola, due to field maintenance.
Goldman Sachs boosted its oil price forecast following the OPEC meeting, citing stronger commitment from the cartel than expected. The investment bank said that it expects crude prices to gain 9 percent over the next year. Still, Goldman said U.S. shale will add new supply. “We continue to find OPEC’s assessment of the supply response to higher prices as too conservative, especially for shale,” Goldman analysts wrote in a December 4 note. “We believe evidence of this response, with higher shale drilling activity and production in coming months, will play an important role in avoiding a policy overshoot from OPEC.” |
