Crude-oil production 10 OPEC members shows that production of the cartel dropped 190,000 barrels a day in March, a Bloomberg News survey shows. Output fell by 0.6 percent to an average 29.88 million barrels a day, according to the survey of oil companies, producers and analysts.
Our view: This is the lowest production level since April 2004 and indicates that OPEC has been pretty successful in their strategy of pushing up prices higher by holding back output. This could boost speculative money and keep risk premium high. We see crude price to range between US$ 65-70/bbl in the short-term, unless a significant change in the geopolitical risk profile of the Middle East.