West TX Oil Near $45.50 as Glut Seen as Ongoing

Oil traded near the lowest level in more than 5 1/2 years as OPEC producers Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates predicted the global glut will persist to at least the second half of 2015 when demand is poised to recover.

Futures were little changed in New York after dropping for a third time yesterday. A demand-led recovery is seen in the second half of this year, Ali Al Yabhouni, the U.A.E.’s governor to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries told reporters in Abu Dhabi. Faster global economic growth will be needed to help absorb the surplus estimated at 1.8 million barrels a day, according to Kuwait Oil Minister Ali Al-Omair.

Oil slumped almost 50 percent last year as the U.S. pumped crude at the highest rate in more than three decades and OPEC resisted calls to reduce supply. West Texas Intermediate yesterday briefly traded higher than Brent for the first time since July 2013, a signal to Societe Generale SA that Saudi Arabia’s strategy of curbing growth in shale production is working.

Bloomberg

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