Traders are not seeing any solid agreements from the Doha meeting other than new commitments.
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“The crude oil market is awaiting the outcome from a key meeting of oil producers in the coming days”, ANZ bank said.
In a statement carried by the Shana news agency, the ministry said Bijan Zanganeh would skip the talks in Doha, adding that “Iran already announced it can not join the plan to stabilise oil prices” while its output is still below pre-sanction levels.
Oil prices slid Friday as caution prevailed before a crunch producers’ summit this weekend, which could deliver an output freeze deal to curb fresh losses on the market.
“This week we had some interesting movements especially in euro/dollar and dollar/yen and a widespread rebound in market sentiment”, said Rabobank economist Philip Marey, adding Thursday s surprise move by Singapore s central bank to ease policy had fuelled hopes of another round of global stimulus.
The oil slump started in November 2014 when the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, led by the Saudis, made a decision to fight for market share – and bury USA producers – rather than cut production to support prices as it had done in the past.
European stocks slipped in early trading, with Britain’s FTSE 100 down 0.3 percent to 6,348.99 and France’s CAC 40 shedding 0.5 percent to 4,489.40.
The International Monetary Fund forecast that Saudi Arabia’s current-account shortfall will equal 10.2 percent of its gross domestic product this year, the most since 1998, when oil prices tumbled to $10 a barrel.
There is little consensus over the benefits of a potential freeze on production.
“Saudi Arabia has already frozen production at January levels and it now needs other countries to make some concessions”, said Olivier Jakob from Petromatrix.
“While Russia and Saudi Arabia can affect the oversupply by reducing production, their decision is likely to have more of a symbolic than real effect on global prices and oversupply is likely to persist for another year at least”.
Here is what five experts from academia and business think about the meeting which is due to take place on Sunday. The IEA believes the world will produce more oil than it consumes throughout 2016.
Opec said its members pumped 32.25 million bpd in March – with Saudi Arabia accounting for almost a third – up from an average of 31.85 million bpd in 2015.
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The dollar, which had gained broadly this week as risk appetite improved, stalled against the euro after Thursday’s data showed US consumer prices rose less than expected in March. We are pressing up against the $42 level yet again, and as a result we could very well find the market trying to grind its way higher. The nation’s crude production fell below 9 million barrels a day last week for the first time in 18 months, the Energy Information Administration reported on Wednesday.
