Crude oil prices to fall, remain soft in 2019, never mind US sanctions on Iran
The World Bank has cut its crude oil price forecast for the current year 2019 and the next year 2020, despite the looming uncertainty over supplies from Iran following the US President Donald Trump’s sanctions.
Crude oil prices are expected to average $66 a barrel in 2019 and $65 a barrel in 2020, a downward revision from the October forecast, said World Bank in its Commodity Markets Outlook Report. This would be on the back of weaker than expected global growth outlook, rising US production and OPEC restraint, the report said.
However, adding a note of caution, the World Bank said that policy uncertainty can alter the outlook on crude oil prices. “The outlook for commodity prices is sensitive to policy-related risks, especially for oil,” said Ayhan Kose, Director of the World Bank’s Prospects Group.
