MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Helima Croft, RBC Capital Markets’ head of commodity strategy, cited Saudi Arabia's reported skepticism about the deal and Iran's unwillingness to attend the meeting as basis for "no agreement" scenario.
While failure to agree in Doha "may incite a kneejerk reaction, it does not really change physical balances… Prices will likely remain choppy no matter the scenario but we still think that they will take another leg higher in the second half of 2016 on the back of fundamentals," the analyst said on Thursday, as quoted by The Australian.
Previously, Riyadh repeatedly said it did not want to join the freeze deal unless Iran gives up on expanding its oil production to the pre-sanctions levels.
On Sunday, at least 17 major oil producing countries are scheduled to meet in the Qatari capital to agree on freezing production at January levels to offset oversupplies and steady rapidly declining prices.