DOE Predicts High Inventories, Soft Prices for Crude, Refined Products
World and U.S. markets for crude oil and refined petroleum will continue to favor buyers in the short term, by a little more than recently expected, the U.S. Department of Energy predicted in a Sept. 9 report.
The Short-Term Energy Outlook from DOE’s Energy Information Administration forecast that U.S. oil production will decline even farther because global demand for oil and petroleum are growing slowly, supplies are high and, therefore, pricing is soft.
Noting the price decline for North Sea Brent crude oil in August from July, EIA said, “This third consecutive monthly decrease in prices likely reflects concerns about lower economic growth in emerging markets, expectations of higher oil exports from Iran and continuing growth in global inventories.”
U.S. retail diesel is expected to average $2.54 per gallon during the last three months of this year, down last month’s estimate of $2.56.
The first-quarter estimate for diesel is now $2.65 a gallon, down from $2.67 a month ago.
For all of 2016 diesel should average $2.77, down from last month’s estimate of $2.81.
The U.S. gasoline predictions did not change, remaining at $2.11 for this year’s fourth quarter and $2.17 for the first quarter.
