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OPEC and China are the triple whammy for uncertainty in crude oil: Russell

Crude oil prices have been driven primarily by the unwinding OPEC+ production cut, China storage flows, and geopolitical tensions this year. This is likely to continue for the foreseeable.

It is important to understand the factors that influence the market. It is impossible to predict with accuracy the future of these factors.

Forecasting the market is a difficult task for the crude oil industry because all three factors are unpredictable and can change rapidly.

The Energy Markets Forum, held in Fujairah (the hub for oil storage and shipping in the United Arab Emirates) this week, was a place where participants and attendees could not help but notice the contradiction.

The level of uncertainty about the future two or three quarters is marked.

Prices tend to move in opposite directions depending on the three factors that currently shape crude markets.

It is not certain whether global demand will be able to absorb this extra oil.

The situation is further complicated because the increase in exports of the group does not match the permitted increases in production.

Since April, when the group began to ease production restrictions, analysts and industry sources estimate the eight OPEC+ members have produced about three quarters of the additional oil output they targeted.

The market is still waiting for 500,000 bpd or 0.5% of the global demand.

The lifting of OPEC+'s production quotas is actually a positive for the prices.

The market may not react strongly if the eight OPEC+ member countries agree to increase their production quotas at a weekend meeting, as they wait to see what extra oil is actually available.

CHINA STORAGE

China's storage of crude oil is seen as a positive factor, at least for the short-term. It has absorbed any excess crude in recent months and helped to stabilize the benchmark Brent futures price in a tight range between $65 and $70 per barrel.

China does not disclose the amount of crude oil flowing into strategic and commercial storages. However, the surplus can easily be estimated by subtracting the volume processed by refineries and the total of imported and domestically produced oil.

According to this, China has likely been building up its stockpiles at least by 500,000 bpd this year.

It is hard to predict, given the lack transparency, whether China will build up its inventories or if they will reduce them.

Price is a good predictor, because China has a history of purchasing extra crude oil when prices are low and drawing from its inventories when they rise.

LSEG Oil Research estimates that China's crude oil imports fell to 10.83 million bpd, down from 11.65 millions bpd, in August. This is the lowest level since February.

Oil prices rose in June, during the conflict between Israel & Iran. This is when September cargoes were arranged.

The short conflict between Israel, Iran and Syria also serves to remind us that geopolitics has played a larger role in this year and remains an unpredictable factor.

The trade wars started by Donald Trump have created economic uncertainty, as well as tensions in the Middle East.

These events will also have an uncertain impact. In the case of Russia, damage to its refineries will likely reduce its refined fuel exports but increase crude oil shipments, which would lead to higher refining margins.

Price volatility can be caused by uncertainty, but market participants may also become cautious and not push as hard in one direction or the other while they wait for hard data to determine which factor will win.

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These are the views of the columnist, who is also an author. (Editing by Jan Harvey).

(source: Reuters)