The second wave of COVID-19 could destroy economic recovery. In this regard, OPEC countries doubt that their record cut of oil production will not be able to keep the balance in the market. That is why it would be difficult to get rid of the record-high surplus of raw materials.
From August 1, OPEC and OPEC + countries will soften record restrictions on oil production, as demand for oil is advancing amid the loosening of quarantine.
Oil-producing countries expect oil demand to grow by 7 million barrels per day in 2021. However, there is no point to forget about the threat of new lockdowns, because in this case goals may become unattainable.
According to the OPEC analysis, in the case of the second quarantine, oil demand will drop by 11 million barrels per day in 2020. Stocks, in turn, will reach an unprecedented level of 1.218 billion barrels in 2020.
In case of the second wave of coronavirus infection, oil reserves will remain at 149 million barrels level. This goes beyond the five-year average for the industrialized OECD countries.
According to OPEC, countries want to keep stocks at or below the five-year average.
Meanwhile, oil prices are moving up. August oil futures rose by 0.07% to trade at $40.78 per barrel.
September Brent futures grew by 0.02% to $43.36 a barrel. The difference in price between the contracts for Brent crude and WTI oil is $2.58 per barrel.
The US dollar index, which measures the US dollar against a basket of six major currencies, increased by 0.08% to trade at $96.245.
