Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov.23
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
The prices for Brent crude oil and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) are expected to average $55.75 per barrel and $53.75 per barrel, respectively in 2017, if OPEC reaches a deal in Vienna, according to the report of the US JP Morgan bank.
Brent prices are forecasted to average $52 per barrel in the first quarter of 2017 and $54 in the second quarter of 2017, according to the report obtained by Trend.
The average prices for this crude oil are expected to continue rising in the third and fourth quarters of 2017, reaching $54 per barrel and $60 per barrel, respectively, said the report.
JP Morgan analysts forecast that WTI prices will average $50 per barrel and $52 per barrel in the first and second quarters of 2017, respectively.
The average prices for this oil will stand at $55 per barrel in the third quarter and $58 per barrel in the fourth quarter of 2017, according to the report.
“Our modal view remains that there are reasons for optimism on oil prices, retaining our end‑2017 target of $60 per barrel on Brent and $58 per barrel, on WTI,” said the analysts.
However, JP Morgan recognizes that shifting oil industry outlooks, most notably around US shale oil, OPEC policy decisions and the US election victory by Donald Trump has injected greater uncertainty over the future direction of oil prices, even as the bank retains its long-held view that oil price should improve in the coming months.
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