Oil prices appear to have hit their low point. No, really, this is it, says Quartz.com. The new head of the International Energy Agency told a seminar in Oslo recently that “Oil prices appear to have bottomed out.” Neil Atkinson added that “Prices are expected to grow throughout 2016 and into 2017, reflecting expectations that the market is going back into balance in 2017.” And Atkinson may be right. US benchmark crude West Texas Intermediate is currently up 31% from its February low.
The market is still flooded, but Saudi Arabia appears to have had enough. The country is calling for a freeze in production. And Russia and several Latin American exporters have joined the calls for a freeze.
Iran, however, is being stubborn, calling a freeze “ridiculous.” Meanwhile, US production has been declining slowly and steadily.