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Volume 41 Issue 10
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1. Oil Market
1. Prices
1-1Crude Oil Prices
Weekly average price of OPEC basket decreased during the first week
of August 2015, recording $47.7/bbl, and continued to decline thereafter ,
to reach its lowest level of $41.8/bbl during the fourth week, as shown in
figure 1
:
Petroleum Developments in the World Market and Member Countries
*
*
Prepared by the Economics Department.
Key Indicators
✍
In August 2015,
OPEC Reference Basket decreased
by 16.1% or $8.7/bbl from the previous month level to
stand at $45.5/bbl.
✍
World Oil Demand
in August 2015,
decreased
by 0.5% or 0.5 million b/d from the previous month level to
reach95.5 million b/d.
✍
World oil supplies
in August 2015,
increased
by 0.6% or 0.6 million b/d from the previous month level to
reach 98.5 million b/d.
✍
US tight oil production
in August 2015,
decreased
by 1.4% to reach 5.4 million b/d. whereas
US oil rig
count
increased
by 9 rig from the previous month level to stand at 588 rig.
✍
US crude oil imports
in July 2015,
increased
by 7.3% from the previous month level to reach 7.5 million
b/d, whereas
US product imports decreased
by
4.6% to reach about 2.1 million b/d.
✍
OECD commercial inventories
in July 2015
increased
by 18 million barrels from the previous month level
to reach 2923 million barrels
,
and
Strategic inventories
in OECD-34, South Africa and China
increased
by 3 million barrels from the previous month level to reach 1858 million barrels.
✍
The average spot price of natural gas
at the Henry Hub in August 2015
decreased
by $0.25/million BTU
from previous month level to reach $2.63/ million BTU.
✍
The Price of Japanese LNG imports increased
in July 2015 by $0.3/m BTU to reach $8.9/m BTU, whereas
the
Price of Korean LNG imports decreased
by $0.3/m BTU to reach $8.8/m BTU, and
the Price of
Chinese LNG imports decreased
by $2/m BTU to reach $7.5/m BTU.
✍
Arab LNG exports to Japan, Korea and China
were about 3.754 million tons in July 2015 (a share of
33.7% of total imports).
Figure - 1
Weekly Average Spot Price of the OPEC Basket of Crudes 2014 - 2015
($/bbl)
On monthly basis,
OPEC Reference Basket
in August 2015, averaged
$45.5/bbl,
representing
a decrease of $8.7/bbl or
16.1% comparing with
previous month, and a
decrease of $55.3/bbl
or 54.9% from the same
month of previous year.
Enduring
oversupply
and the slowdown in the
Chinese economy, were
major stimulus for the
decrease in oil prices
during the month of July
2015, to reach near-
January lows.