Mid-Week Review – July 15, 2020

Oil slips on surge in COVID-19 infections, U.S.-China tension

In the United States, infections surged over the weekend as Florida reported an increase of more than 15,000 new cases in 24 hours, a record for any state. Numerous states have rolled back the loosening of restrictions on business operations and now require mask-wearing to slow the spread of the virus, which has killed nearly 140,000 people in the United States. Click here to read more from Reuters.

Oil down on signs OPEC+ will increase output

Oil edged lower ahead of an OPEC+ meeting this week at which the group may announce plans to start tapering historic production cuts even as the coronavirus surges unabated in many parts of the world. The OPEC+ cutbacks have been instrumental in driving the recovery in oil prices from their nadir in April and the challenge confronting the group is how to avoid an erosion of those hard-fought gains. Click here to read more from Rigzone.

Oil demand will rebound sharply in 2021, surpassing pre-virus levels, OPEC says

Demand for OPEC’s crude oil is set to bounce back next year at a historically quick pace, the global coalition said in its July report published Tuesday. OPEC expects demand for its product to spike roughly 25% to 29.8 million barrels per day in 2021, bringing it slightly above levels seen in 2019. The group’s forecast for 2020 demand crept 200,000 barrels per day higher to 23.8 million barrels per day. Click here to read more from Business Insider.

Chinese oil imports surged in H1 2020 despite COVID-19

Despite the devastating coronavirus pandemic that locked down China for weeks, the country’s overall crude oil imports during the first half of the year rose 9.9 percent on the first half of 2019, customs data cited by Reuters has revealed. At 269 million tons in total, China’s first-half oil imports came in at an average of 10.95 million bpd, using the conversion rate of 7.33 barrels equaling 1 metric ton. Click here to read more from Oilprice.com.