India Asks For Oil Price To Go Down, Who Will Do It?

“Oil producers need to show sensitivity towards the consuming countries.” This was the message from Hardeep Singh Puri, India’s Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas in Abu Dhabi on October 3^rd. Global oil prices have been steadily rising since late June, as traders and the financial media increasingly talk of barrels costing from $100 to $150.

The latest data from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve said that there were 17 days left, as of September 22^nd. Washington DC had opened the taps to counter Saudi and Russian efforts to drive up oil prices earlier this year. In early September, the two producers announced their commitment to stick to production cuts – 1 million barrels per day (bpd) by Saudi Arabia, and 300,000 bpd by Russia. Meanwhile, estimates say that global oil demand will keep rising throughout the rest of the year.