REUTERS
The growth of world oil prices seen over the last month or so will be replaced by fresh price drops, Gazeta.Ru has reported, with reference to the Wall Street Journal.
The reason for a change in the trend is the outflow of assets from major Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), which are tied to the oil market.
According to the Australian investment bank Macquarie Group, since early April the outflows from ETFs, which invest in futures for Brent WTI, have amounted to $2.7 billion.
April outflows will be the first since December, and since the beginning of 2015 investors have invested about $6 billion in ETFs.
Managing Director of the Swiss consulting firm Petromatrix GmbH Olivier Jakob said that if investors start withdrawing funds from ETFs, this will put pressure on the market.
Traders and analysts continue monitoring the statistics of consumption and production, seeking a balance of overproduction to be established. However, they are also monitoring the dynamics of investment, therefore a fall in oil prices amid falling investment is a realistic scenario.
The decrease of oil prices in late 2014 contributed to the inflow of capital into the ETFs. Many investors believe that it is a good time to enter the market when oil is cheap.