Oil attempts rebound after record-setting losing streak
Oil futures were higher on Wednesday with the commodity attempting to snap back after 12 consecutive down sessions, its longest losing streak on record.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures were hovering around the $56 per barrel level after plunging 7.1 percent Tuesday, their sharpest one-day fall since September 2015. Oil’s recent slide comes after the commodity ran up earlier on the year on the expectation that re-imposed sanctions on Iran would remove enough supplies from the market to cause scarcity and drive prices higher. However, recent evidence has shown that other producers have more than made up for lost supplies.
Data released Wednesday from the International Energy Agency showed that the U.S., Russia and Saudi Arabia are pumping crude at record levels, and that is causing supply to exceed demand.
Since May, global oil output has climbed by 1.8 million barrels a day, with the U.S. contributing more than half – 1 million barrels a day to be exact.
While global output is skyrocketing, concerns have surfaced about the demand outlook. OPEC downwardly revised its forecast for 2019 oil demand for the fourth consecutive month in October.
The group expects global demand will grow at 1.5 million barrels per day this year and will slow to 1.29 barrels per day in 2019.