BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 10. The US Energy Information Administration Agency (EIA) predicts that oil prices will average around $90 per barrel in the second quarter of 2024, $2 more than their previous estimate, Trend reports.
According to the EIA, oil prices went up again in March, hitting an average of $85 per barrel, which is $2 more than February. This marks the third straight month of rising prices. The tensions in the Middle East and attacks on ships passing through the Red Sea pushed prices higher. Also, OPEC+ decided to continue with their production cuts. This happened just when oil demand usually picks up due to people driving more in the spring and summer.
The EIA analyst say that because oil production isn't increasing much while demand keeps going up, global oil inventories are expected to drop by more than 0.9 mb/d in the second quarter of 2024. This drop is likely to make oil prices go even higher.
Looking ahead, the EIA believes that in 2025, when OPEC+ likely increases production, global oil inventories will start to rise. The agency expects inventories to go up by an average of 0.4 mb/d in 2025. This increase in supply is likely to bring oil prices down a bit.
Thus, the EIA predicts that the price of Brent crude oil will drop from around $90 per barrel at the end of 2024 to about $86 per barrel by the end of 2025, with average prices of $89 per barrel in 2024 and $87 per barrel in 2025.