Oil prices face pressure from slow China demand and inventory rise - Reuters poll

By Anushree Ashish Mukherjee

(Reuters) - Analysts have lowered their 2024 oil price outlook due to weak fuel demand from leading importer China and rising inventory levels as Saudi Arabia and OPEC+ allies prepare to ease some output cuts from October, a Reuters poll found.

The poll of 37 analysts and economists surveyed by Reuters in the last two weeks forecast Brent crude would average $82.86 per barrel in 2024, a fourth straight cut in estimates, from $83.66 forecast in July.

The poll showed U.S. crude would average $78.82 this year, slightly lower than last month's estimate of $79.22.

"Despite heightened geopolitical tensions, oil prices have been trading below $90 per barrel so far this year, as weak crude intake from China and Europe has offset the bullish impact of still-curbed OPEC supplies," Florian Grunberger, senior analyst at data and analytics firm Kpler.

Analysts anticipated global oil demand growing by 1.0 to 1.3 million barrels per day (mbpd) in 2024, compared with 1 and 1.5 mbpd growth forecast in the previous poll.

OPEC also cut its forecast for global oil demand growth in 2024, citing weaker than expected data for the first half of the year and lower expectations for demand from China.

"This slowdown in consumption has led to a rise in inventory stock in the U.S. which could further put downward pressure on prices," Sehul Bhatt, Director-Research at CRISIL Market Intelligence and Analytics, said.

Conflicts are ongoing in the Middle East and between Russia and Ukraine, but analysts said the risk premium on oil had shrunk because there has been no material impact on oil flows.

However, a further widening of the Israel-Hamas conflict paired with sustained supply outages, including disruptions in Libya, could drive prices above $90 a barrel, Kpler's Grunberger said.

"The floating storage has risen recently. Also, the announced production enhancement by the OPEC+ alliance is a burden on oil prices shoulder so far," said Thomas Wybierek, analyst at NORD Landbk.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies (OPEC+) earlier this month confirmed its plan to start unwinding the most recent layer of cuts of 2.2 million bpd from October, but repeated earlier comment the increase in supply could be paused or reversed if needed.

"We still assume that OPEC will raise production in the fourth quarter as the market is potentially shifting from an equilibrium where OPEC supports spot balances and reduces volatility to a more long-run equilibrium focused on strategically disciplining non-OPEC supply and supporting cohesion," Goldman Sachs said in a note this week.

(Reporting by Anushree Mukherjee and Swati Verma in Bengaluru; editing by Barbara Lewis)