OIL: Oil Market Balance Difficult To Predict This Year: Vitol CEO

It has been difficult to predict oil market balances this year because of the uncertainty with Russian supply and Chinese oil demand, Vitol CEO, Russell Hardy, said.

• The market is in slight oversupply with Russia beating earlier expectations of a supply loss because of western sanctions imposed on its exports, Hardy said.
• While there were signs in the first quarter that China's oil recovery is coming, it has stalled due to economic headwinds, he added.
• China’s oil demand recovery has been the main focus of oil markets so far this year. The IEA expects China to contribute by 60% to this year’s oil demand growth.