Volatile oil prices have reached a floor of between $50 and $60 a barrel and the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) is unlikely to announce major output cuts in September, a senior IEA oil analyst said yesterday.
Oil slid below $66 a barrel yesterday extending losses from the retreat of more than $1 the day before, on renewed concerns over the US economy after a drop in consumer confidence and due to industry figures showing a rise in commercial crude oil inventories.
"The evidence so far suggests that prices have probably reached a floor which maybe around $50 to $60," said Eduardo Lopez, a senior oil demand analyst at the International Energy Agency (IEA), on the sidelines of an oil and gas conference.
"So, unless something dramatic were to happen, it's plausible. Prices will remain again at about that level, of course with probably a lot of volatility," he said.
Lopez said under a scenario of "relatively high" prices in the midst of a major recession, further cuts by Opec when it meets again in September could lead to another demand reaction and impact on prices. "So under those circumstances I would be very surprised to see another big Opec cut in September," said Lopez.
The IEA is adviser to 28 industrialised economies.
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries kept production steady at its last meeting in May after agreeing to cut 4.2 million barrels per day of oil output since last summer in a bid to shore up prices battered by the financial crisis.
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