Oil prices hit 18-month highs on the first full trading day of 2017, following reports by Al-Ansa newspaper that OPEC member Kuwait has cut output by 130,000 barrels a day to about 2.75 million a day, according to Kuwait Oil Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamal Jaafer. Meanwhile, Oman was sait to cut 45,000 barrels a day from 1.01 million, the Oil Ministry’s Director of Marketing Ali Al-Riyami said on Oman TV.
With 2016 still fresh in most investors' minds, and questions about 2017 pressing, here is a summary, courtesy of Goldman's Allison Nathan, of where Goldman believes we closed out 2016, what is in store in the coming year, and ultimately, "what keeps Goldman up at night" about 2017.
2016, and a peek at 2017
After suffering two record budgets shortfalls in 2015 and 2016 as a result of plunging oil prices, and which nearly brought both Saudi Arabia's economy and banking sector to a standstill, not to mention billions in unpaid state worker wages at least until generous foreign investors funded the Kingdom's imminent cash needs with its first, and massive, bond sale ever, today Saudi Arabia released it budget outlook for the next year.
Submitted by Nick Cunningham, via OilPrice.com,
OPEC succeeded in pulling off what many thought was impossible, overcoming mutual disdain and mistrust to reach a deal on reducing its oil output. Oil prices skyrocketed on the news, up more than 12 percent since the agreement was announced last week. But what if there is much less to the deal than meets the eye? What if OPEC does not actually follow through on the promised production cuts?
Submitted by Nick Cunningham via OilPrice.com,
If anyone is cheering the news of an OPEC deal it is U.S. shale producers. The OPEC agreement sent oil prices shooting up this week, with WTI and Brent quickly surging above $50 per barrel.