At the beginning of the year, the majority of analysts (yours truly included) held a pretty downbeat view on the oil market. This reflected several factors.  Firstly, the three major energy agencies’ 2026 forecast that average daily supply-demand differentials would come to a surplus of between 1.2 million and 2.5 million barrels. This reflected a huge rise in both Opec and non-Opec supply growth.  Within Opec, both Saudi Arabia and the UAE have raised their production by over 2 million barrels per day (BPD) since the start of 2025. The decision to raise output levels reflected a desire to maintain…

Want to continue reading?

Join today and get full access to The Currency and The Wall Street Journal – TWO premium memberships for the price of one.

Subscribe

Cancel at any time.

Are you already a member? .