IEA monthly report: Oil market is now 'very close' to reaching a balance

In its latest monthly report on oil markets, the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) slashed the global oil demand growth for this year.

Key Points:

IEA cuts 2017 global oil demand growth by 40k bpd to 1.32mln bpd

Global demand estimate for 2017 could prove optimistic as slowdown in OECD nations deepens

Raises forecast for non-OPEC supply growth to 485k bpd in 2017 vs 400k prev

"It is now halftime for the six-month oil production cuts agreed by OPEC and eleven non-OPEC countries. So far, the game has gone fairly well for producers"

“For OPEC countries, compliance has been impressive from the start while non-OPEC participants are gradually increasing their compliance rate, although in their case it is harder for analysts to verify the data"