Oil prices were slightly softer at the start of the week, but that may not last long. There will be a slew of well-informed comments from market watchers from OPEC, the International Energy Agency and the U.S. government in the coming days, which will unveil the impact of extended production cuts by Saudi Arabia and Russia on the global oil balance in the fourth quarter and early 2024. Now that Saudi Arabia and Russia have pledged to maintain voluntary production cuts at least through the end of the year, a raft of forecast revisions are expected to suggest faster drawdowns in inventories, which in turn could provide room for higher oil prices. On Tuesday, OPEC will release a monthly report providing in-depth analysis of the global crude oil market, followed by the EIA's short-term energy outlook, and on Wednesday, the IEA will release a report. Last time around, the IEA had highlighted the threat of sharp declines in inventories, record demand and rising oil prices. Information it is expected to release this week, along with information from the other two agencies, is likely to have a more urgent tone.