Article content

Make the most of abundant oil because by the end of the year the world may be consuming more than it pumps.

The global crude market will shift into a deepening deficit in the fourth quarter amid a draw-down in U.S. stockpiles, according to Standard Chartered Plc. While Qatar’s former oil minister says there’s currently a surplus of 2 million barrels a day, Sanford C. Bernstein Ltd. sees demand outpacing supply by 1.5 million a day by the fourth quarter.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Oil deficit coming? World may be consuming more than it pumps by year end, analysts warn Back to video

Oil has recovered more than 40 per cent since January on signs that a slowdown in U.S. drilling will alleviate the glut that drove prices to the lowest in six years. U.S. crude inventories probably shrank for a fourth week through May 22 after surging to the highest in 85 years, a Bloomberg survey showed.

“By the second half of this year we will go from being oversupplied to being undersupplied,” Neil Beveridge, Bernstein’s Hong Kong-based analyst, said by phone Wednesday. “Once we see U.S. production growth come to an end, with demand growth running at about 1.5 million barrels a day, we’ll see a significant tightening in the market.”