LAUSANNE, March 25 (Reuters) – Executives from the world’s top commodity trading houses expect a well-supplied oil market this year, with concerns remaining over global demand growth.
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“There are some threats to supply, but by and large there is adequate supply for the next couple of years,” said Vitol Chief Executive Russell Hardy.
“There is more supply coming in the second half of the year, the OPEC tapering is going to begin, and so the market has anticipated all of that and reset from about $80 a barrel to about $70,” Hardy said during a keynote interview.
Gunvor’s Chief Executive Torbjorn Tornqvist had said earlier that supply growth will likely outpace demand.
“Prices have been stuck in the range of low $70s, and that’s probably a fair price,” he said, adding that if there were no interferences to supply anywhere then prices could move a bit lower.
“There are concerns about where demand is going to come from,” said Trafigura’s head of oil Ben Luckock, citing a potential peak in China’s gasoline demand, and both the U.S. and European economies “not looking particularly constructive”.
Reporting by Robert Harvey and Dmitry Zhdannikov; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Ed Osmond
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