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Ample supply to hold down oil prices as Middle East dangers pale

The Middle East dispute is unlikely to move the needle much in oil markets this year with ample international materials reining rates in around the current $80 a. barrel level, a poll revealed on Thursday.

A survey of 40 analysts and economic experts anticipate Brent crude. would average $81.13 per barrel in 2024, slightly down. from the $81.44 consensus in January. U.S. crude. forecasts were cut to $76.54 a barrel, from $77.26 last month.

Disruption in the Red Sea has less impact because there are. alternative routes offered, stated John Paisie, president of. Stratas Advisors, describing attacks on shipping by Yemen's. Houthis.

It is unlikely that the volumes of oils being shipped will. be materially affected, and supply/demand fundamentals will be a. more important factor as we move into Q2 and Q3, he included.

Wall Street bank Goldman Sachs anticipated a summer Brent peak. of $87 per barrel, noting that the geopolitical risk premium. remains modest, with only a $2 per barrel increase to Brent, and. unrefined production staying untouched.

Extra capacity has reached a multi-year high, which will. keep general market belief under pressure over the coming. months, said Florian Grunberger, senior expert at data and. analytics firm Kpler.

The biggest OPEC manufacturers and some of their allies - a. group known as OPEC+ - have the capacity to pump more oil as a. effect of decisions to curb output.

It is not up until larger voluntary cuts get launched back. into the market throughout the summertime, once worldwide balances. tighten, that we'll see a potential decline in spare capability. and a change in overall sentiment, Grunberger stated.

OPEC+ in November agreed to voluntary output cuts amounting to. about 2.2 million bpd for the first quarter. The group is. expected to reveal a choice in March on whether it. will extend these cuts to reinforce prices.

The International Energy Firm estimates that OPEC's overall. extra capacity is 5.1 million barrels daily (bpd), of which. 3.2 million bpd is held by Saudi Arabia.

Production cuts have actually supported oil prices, but some members. appear significantly eager to increase output, said William. Weatherburn, expert at Capital Economics.

OPEC's own projections for oil demand are fairly robust, and. this might be used to justify a minor increase in output in. 2nd quarter, he included.

Most analysts anticipate global oil demand to grow by somewhere. in between 1 million and 1.5 million bpd in 2024.

(source: Reuters)