Goldman's Currie Cites China as Oil Market Strength

The biggest factor behind the recent oil price rally is China, says Goldman Sachs’ Jeff Currie in an interview with CNBC.

• “Chinese demand has rebounded up to around 15.8mn bpd, which is rather healthy for July and then you combine that with the recent announcements of more stimulus on the property side.” Currie said.
• “Demand outside of China is holding up much better than most ever feared, particularly around concerns of a [global] recession.” he said.
• “The other factor I would put into this is what’s going on in the product side. Product margins are very strong. Gasoline prices are at extremely high levels and will put a lot of pressure on pump prices.” Currie added.
• “We were weak at the end of last year because of the weakness in China and a lot of that has shifted.” he said.
• “Inventories in July look like they declined by around 2.2mn bpd, that’s just reinforcing the potential for more upside”. Currie said.
• “High interest rates are keeping an upside on commodity prices.” he added.