Crude outlook bleak despite OPEC+ efforts

Crude oil was on track to end 2019 slightly higher after 2018 saw prices snap a two-year rebound following the big falls in 2014 and to a lesser degree 2015. WTI oscillated around $60 and Brent $65 per barrel for much of the year. Prices found support from ongoing supply cuts by the OPEC+ group of nations, led by Saudi Arabia, while weakening global economic growth kept the gains in check. Heading to 2020, the prospects for a big recovery look slim. While the OPEC+ will do its best to keep global supply growth in check, non-OPEC crude supply looks set to increase further. This comes at a time of weakening global demand growth and as alternative energy supply is on the rise with sales of electric vehicles, for example, booming. Crude oil is therefore likely to remain subdued in 2020, although a potential resolution in US-China trade spat could lift the demand outlook and provide at least a short-term boost to oil prices.