US president Joe Biden is trying to persuade oil-producing states to boost their output to help curb soaring fuel prices.
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Oil prices will remain high for the foreseeable future, according to Laffer Tengler’s CEO said.
Nancy Tengler predicted that the US will fail to persuade oil producers to increase supply.
China’s reopening will prevent demand destruction, she added.
Crude oil prices will remain high with supply levels unlikely to rise and China’s reopening boosting demand, according to Laffer Tengler’s chief executive.
Nancy Tengler predicted that crude prices will stay elevated in the long-term, even if they hover around $100 a barrel over the next “six to nine months”.
US president Joe Biden has previously called on OPEC members and other oil-producers to release additional stocks to tame soaring prices.
But many of those countries are already pumping out as much oil as they can, Tengler told CNBC.
“We know we have supply constraints and that the president has been going to other countries and asking them to increase supply,” she said. “But that’s just not going to happen.”
“OPEC in particular is pretty well-constrained from a capacity and delivery standpoint,” Tengler added.
Oil prices have slipped away from record highs in recent months as investors fret that a recession will lead to demand destruction. The price of a barrel of Brent crude has fallen 15.6% to $104 since June 7, while WTI crude prices have slipped 17.4% to under $99 a barrel over the same period.
But China’s reopening should boost demand for oil, Tengler said. Beijing and Shanghai have ended their “Covid-zero” policies in recent weeks, providing a much-needed boost for global growth.
“As China starts to reopen we’ll see higher energy prices, unfortunately,” Tengler said.
The dollar’s appreciation should provide another tailwind for oil prices, according to Tengler.
The dollar has rallied to all-time highs in recent months as the Federal Reserve hikes interest rates. Oil contracts tend to be priced in dollars, so a stronger dollar makes crude more expensive.
“This is more of a dollar story than a demand story,” Tengler said.
Laffer Tengler, which manages around $1.1 billion in assets, is loading up on energy stocks to take advantage of higher prices, its chief executive said.
“We have a pretty full position and still own and are overweight energy,” Tengler told CNBC. “I think you’ll see a return for this trade but it’s a six-to-nine month imbalance that gets sorted out.”