Barclays raises forecasts for crude oil prices, but flags slow recovery
Barclays Commodities Research on Friday raised its oil price forecasts for this year by $4 per barrel, citing a bigger deficit in the second half of the year, though the British bank expressed caution on a slow recovery in the near term.
“The rate of change in fundamentals is likely to moderate significantly as incremental demand improvement will depend more on consumer behavior than the easing of enforced movement restrictions,” Barclays said in a note.
The private bank now sees Brent oil prices at $41 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate at $37, and expects Brent to average $37 a barrel during the third quarter, while US crude futures are seen averaging $34.
