"Despite signs of a slowdown in non-OPEC supply, notably in the US, global production growth remains exceptionally high," the International Energy Agency (IEA), an oil market watchdog for the world’s largest economies, said.
The global oil market is on course for recovery after it saw prices tumble from $115 per barrel in June 2014 to just $45 in January 2015. The slump occurred due to a glut in supply, exacerbated by US active extraction of shale oil.
"More than the rise in demand itself, it is that mismatch between product supply and product demand that seems to have supported prices," the energy agency added.
Global oil prices solidified in spring 2015 at the level of $60-65 per barrel. The IEA predicts in its report that the recent partial recovery in oil prices was based on the "looming impact of oil companies' recent spending cuts," which "may already be baked into prices."
The cartel’s oil ministers previously met in November 2014, when they decided to keep output levels unchanged despite a slump in prices, much to the dismay of oil producers, including Venezuela and Iran, that heavily depend on revenues derived from crude oil sales.
