Oil market rebalancing outlook still intact: analysts

Singapore

SAUDI Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, is digging in its heels on the oil policy that it started in late 2014, with the appointment of a new oil minister, analysts say.

With oil production from the US expected to continue declining, they are therefore expecting no change to the market consensus of a rebalancing in oil supply and demand toward the end of the year, or early next year.

Meanwhile, supply disruptions in Nigeria are likely to provide support for the near-term oil price, which started sliding this month.

Saudi Arabia had over the weekend replaced its long-serving oil minister Ali al-Naimi with Khalid al-Falih, the chairman of state oil company Saudi Aramco, under a broad Cabinet reshuffle. The writing for Mr al-Naimi had been on the wall since the Doha talks to discuss a possible freeze in oil output ended in deadl…