More price records, OPEC produces more and Iraq exports less

This section summarizes downstream developments of the previous month. Exploration & Production are covered in 'Upstream Review'.
Oil prices surged to new highs as Norwegian oil workers threatened to strike. WTI futures settled at a record $60.54/bbl on 27th June while, on the same day, heating oil broke through all previous records on Nymex to reach $1.6761/gall. August IPE Brent remained just below the $60 mark, but the October and November contracts both closed above $60/bbl for the first time, with November the higher of the two at $60.58/bbl. These new price levels proved unsustainable as many traders cashed-in their profits to close-out the second quarter. The record prices appeared not to indicate any actual shortage of crude oil. US imports touched 10.97 mn bpd in the week-ending 24th June: the second-highest on record. As if accepting this as proof that it was producing sufficient crude oil, OPEC shelved plans to discuss a possible 0.5 mn bpd increase in quotas to 28.5 mn bpd. The cartel had earlier decided that it would raise its output ceiling from 27.5 mn bpd to 28.0 mn bpd with effect from 1st July, at its meeting in Vienna on 15th June.