Oil-sector risks mount amid higher demand-and-supply uncertainty

OIL prices may have pulled back from their recent highs, but observers warned that more risks await the industry against a backdrop of uncertainty related to the commodity’s demand and supply. 

Prices of the commodity’s benchmarks, Brent and West Texas Intermediate (WTI), have so far this year been capped by voluntary output cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies (Opec+), as well as continued concerns about sluggish demand from the US and China. 

Oil prices this year have also traded in a tighter range compared to the corresponding prior-year period, Bloomberg data showed.