ENERGY: Brent crude stuck at $48, as U.S. stocks at record high

Crude oil prices were stuck at week-long levels with Brent trading at just above $48 a barrel in Asian markets, as OPEC and other producers refused to cut output and U.S. stockpiles were at record highs.

Brent, at $48.65 a barrel, was near its lowest level in six years, as global crude prices tumbled by more than 40% since last June with producers pumping out as much of the black gold as possible in order to boost state revenues.
In the U.S., the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said domestic crude stocks rose by 9 mln barrels last week to about 407 mln, the highest level since the government began keeping records 33 years ago.
Analysts warned that stockpiles could keep rising, pushing front-month prices further down as refineries enter maintenance season and are likely run at lower utilisation rates.
They said that the outlook remained weak, especially with demand slowing in China which is slowly moving towards a more moderate but sustainable consumption-led economic growth, while cheap oil was not expected to provide any significant boost to Asia’s economic growth.
With OPEC giants Saudi Arabia worried by the growing popularity of shale gas, while other war-torn states such as Libya and Iraq highly dependent on oil revenues, together with Russia, major producers do not intend to cut back on their output, generating a glut, and continue to keep prices on a downward spiral.