OPEC Expects Oil Markets to Tighten

A year after shuttering unprecedented volumes of crude, the OPEC+ alliance is expecting world oil markets to get acutely tight.
The coalition led by Saudi Arabia and Russia believes that the glut created during the pandemic has nearly gone, and that oil stockpiles will diminish rapidly in the second half of the year as lockdowns ease and travels gather pace, Bloomberg reported.
That leaves OPEC and its partners with a decision: whether to pour more oil into the market in the second half when the outlook is still so mired in uncertainty.
Holding output steady would support the market against the twin risks of renewed virus outbreaks and a potential export flood from fellow OPEC member Iran. 
But with Brent futures near $70 a barrel, it could also jeopardize the global economy and feed into the inflationary pressures fixating Wall Street.
“There are many moving parts when it comes to factors affecting the global oil market, such as the pace of change during the pandemic,” OPEC Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo said after preliminary consultations on Monday.
In theory, according to a historic deal struck in the depths of the oil crisis last year, the group has committed to hold at that level until early 2022. But a tight market may call for the agreement to be revised.