BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 13. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecasts Brent spot price to average $85 per barrel in the first half of 2023, Trend reports via EIA.
"The Brent crude oil spot price averaged $82 per barrel in January, about $2 per barrel higher than the average in December 2022. Oil prices rose during January in part because of the expectation of increasing oil demand as a result of relaxing COVID-19 restrictions and increasing mobility in China. Perceptions of a less severe recession and some improving macroeconomic conditions also likely contributed to rising crude oil prices over the past month," the report said.
However, as EIA noted, world oil production is forecast to continue to outpace demand during the projected period, which will lead to a steady increase in world oil reserves until 2024 and a fall in oil prices.
After an average increase of 0.6 million barrels per day in 2022, EIA expects world oil reserves to increase by an average of 0.6 million barrels per day in 2023, with growth slowing to 0.4 million barrels per day in 2024. Accordingly, the projected spot price of Brent crude will fall to an average of $82 per barrel in the second half of 2023, and $78 per barrel - in 2024.
Meanwhile, global oil production is expected to increase by an average of 1.1 million barrels per day in 2023 from 100 million barrels per day in 2022. As for 2024 outlook, world liquids production is expected to grow by 1.5 million barrels per day.