Moscow — Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Wednesday there was an oil deficit on the global market even though some countries were recording a growing number of COVID-19 cases.
“There definitely is a deficit on the market which helps to reduce an (oil stocks) excess left from last year, to gradually bring it to the level of a five-year average,” Novak told reporters.
“The oil prices are stable … meaning that the market is balanced with a slight excess of demand over supply.”
Brent crude were 1.9% down on Wednesday to $67.42 a barrel hit by renewed demand concerns as coronavirus cases in Asia rise but the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries expects a strong recovery in demand in 2021 due to growth in China and the United States.
OPEC and its allies, known as OPEC+, agreed in April to gradually ease oil output cuts from May. Its next meeting is set for June 1.
*Olesya Astakhova; Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber & Katya Golubkova; editing: David Evans
Follow us on twitter
