15 November 2018 : In its November report, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) lowered its forecast for the year for the fourth consecutive month to 1.29 mb/d in 2018. Meanwhile, the group’s output rose 0.13 mb/d to 32.90 mb/d in October as Saudi Arabia and UAE compensated for declining output in Iran. Brent crude prices fell to $65/bbl yesterday, a far cry from the year-high of $86/bbl in October, and Saudi Arabia Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih said on Monday that OPEC had agreed that there is a need to cut output to avoid an over-supplied market in 2019. Amid this, Saudi Arabia committed to a 0.5 mb/d cut in December and suggested the group may cut as much as 1.0 mb/d in 2019. However, with oil demand waning amid trade war headwinds in China, and non-OPEC supply expected to remain robust through the year, we expect oil prices to remain soft. 

Reporting for EasyKobo on Thursday , 15 November 2018 in Lagos, Nigeria

Source: Vetiva Capital Management Limited