17 October 2018 : After hitting a high of $86.74 on 3 October, crude oil prices have been on a downward trend, losing 6% over the past 2 weeks with Brent crude currently trading at $81.78/bbl. Interestingly, this decline comes in spite of a fall in U.S. crude inventories by 2.1 million barrels last week compared with analyst expectations for a rise of 2.2 million barrels. Recently, both OPEC and EIA updated their projections, cutting their 2018 and 2019 crude demand estimates, citing weaker currencies, trade wars and high prices as drivers for the cut. Nevertheless, the medium term outlook for crude prices should remain strong as declining demand is made up for by a less than rosy production outlook from certain big producers like Iran and Venezuela. 

Reporting for EasyKobo on Wednesday ,17 October 2018 in Lagos, Nigeria

Source: Vetiva Capital Management Limited