Oil prices took a breather mid-week after the U.S. saw a larger than expected increase in crude inventories. The market is still heading in a bullish direction, but the path higher is not entirely free of obstacles. The International Energy Agency also sought to calm the market this week, issuing a statement on Tuesday that the markets “are now adequately supplied, and that global spare production capacity remains at comfortable levels.” While the expiration of Iran sanctions waivers will tighten the market significantly, OPEC has the ability to plug any supply gaps. “As a result of OPEC’s high compliance rate with the agreed supply cuts in the OPEC+ group, global spare production capacity has risen to 3.3 mb/d, with 2.2 mb/d held by Saudi Arabia and around 1 mb/d by the United Arab Emirates, Iraq and Kuwait,” the agency said. That eased upward pressure on oil prices, which erased […]