OPEC chief sees oil market moving closer to balance before key meeting - Reuters

OPEC chief sees oil market moving closer to balance before key meeting - Reuters:

The oil market is getting closer to balance as demand gradually rises, OPEC’s secretary general said on Monday, two days before the group and ally Russia meet to decide whether to ease output curbs from August.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, known as OPEC+, have been cutting output since May by 9.7 million barrels per day after the coronavirus crisis destroyed a third of global demand and caused a price collapse.

After July, the cuts are due to taper to 7.7 million bpd until December although a final decision has yet to be taken. A panel called the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) meets on Wednesday to recommend the next level of cuts.

“The gradual reopening of the economies and societies around the world has provided a much-needed resurgence in demand,” while the supply cuts “have helped reverse a rapidly rising trend in inventories,” OPEC’s Mohammad Barkindo said.