Saturday, March 14, 2009

Mentions ahead of the OPEC meeting

Ahead of the OPEC meeting on March 15, 2009 in Vienna, I was interviewed for a number of news articles. In summary, I said that OPEC do not need to and will not cut any further at this meeting. Apparently I held the minority view (less than 25% of those surveyed) heading into the meeting but in the end I was on the right side as OPEC didn't cut. Bloomberg TV also carried an interview.
"We have seen the lows in crude oil prices for this year" Morgan Downey...said in a Bloomberg Television interview.  "There will be a slow but steady increase in prices."  Oil, which traded around $43 a barrel in New York today will recover into "the low $60s" once seasonal demand for gasoline peaks after the second quarter and to $70 before the end of the year, Downey said.

Downey said the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, supplier of 40 percent of the world's oil, is unlikely to announce further production cuts when it meets on March 15 as previous curbs have "been more than sufficient to remove excess supplies in the market."

Thirty-one of 41 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg last week said they expect OPEC to agree a new reduction at the gathering.." (source: Bloomberg TV, March 12, 2009)

Here is a short clip of the interview.

(source: Morgan Downey in New York - Bloomberg)


  • OPEC Meeting and a Few Related Thoughts and Graphs from Readers (Mar 14, 2009 - theoildrum
  • Opec back in the driving seat (Mar 11, 2009 - FT Alphaville)
  • Oil Rises a Second Day Before OPEC Meets to Discuss Output Cut (Mar 13, 2009 - Bloomberg)
  • Opec roundup: The Russians are coming (Mar 13, 2009 - FT Energy Source)
  • Американская нефть подорожала на 11%, европейская — на 9% (Mar 13, 2009 - banki.ru)
  • 测欧佩克减产,周四纽约油价暴涨11 (Mar 13, 2009 - alibaba.com.cn)
  • Downey Says Oil Set to Rebound Above $60 on OPEC Cuts: Video (Mar 12, 2009 – Bloomberg TV)
  • Nymex Crude Higher As Market Braces For OPEC Mtg (Mar 12, 2009 - Dow Jones News)
  • Opec round-up: Demand gloom, fail rate, Russian membership (Mar 11, 2009 - FT Energy Source)
  • Petróleo avança 3% em Nova York, mas cai em Londres (Mar 9, 2009 - PortalExame)