Oil prices ticked up and volatility declined during second quarter 2015. However, significant downside risks to prices remain because of supply increases by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), in particular by Iraq and Saudi Arabia. The lifting of sanctions on Iran also has the potential to introduce another 700,000 barrels per day (kb/d) to the global market by the end of 2016, possibly depressing global prices by $5–15 per barrel. In the U.S., the drop in rig counts has slowed, but production continued to grow during the second quarter, though growth is expected to level off in the second half of 2015.
July 7, 2015
