DME Monthly Insights – July 2023
10 Jul 2023
Oil markets continued to focus on the outlook for demand with the global economy showing further signs of economic weakness. In the first six months of 2023, oil demand has failed to receive a welcome boost from the reopening of the Chinese economy with consequent negative impact on oil prices.
Given the uncertain economic backdrop, OPEC announced an unexpected cut in production at the beginning of April 2023 of 500K barrels per day and a further cut of 1M barrels per day (for July) in early June 2023.
Global crude oil prices declined around $10 per barrel between the start of April and early June as traders weighed up concerns about the demand outlook for oil.
Chart 1: Crude prices weaken despite OPEC cuts
