Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 24
By Aygun Badalova - Trend:
US JP Morgan bank has lifted its Brent price forecasts for the first and second quarters of 2016 to $31 a barrel and $28 a barrel respectively on the prospects of smaller builds and diminished financial market stress.
Previously JP Morgan expected Brent price at $28 a barrel in the first quarter and $25 a barrel in the second quarter of the year.
"Prospects for WTI relative to Brent appear bleak and we now expect the Brent-WTI spread to average +$1 a barrel in 1Q-3Q2016 before coming to parity in 4Q2016," JP Morgan said in their monthly Oil Marker Report, obtained by Trend.
Overall, JP Morgan expects Brent and WTI prices to average $32.75 a barrel and $32 a barrel, respectively, in 2016.
In 2017, the bank expects prices to increase further as market rebalancing continues. Brent and WTI are expected to average $43.25 a barrel next year.
Oil prices fell four percent on Wednesday, Feb.24, after Saudi Arabia's oil minister Ali Al-Naimi ruled out any production cuts, saying the kingdom's rationale on maintaining output was that demand would pick up any excess supply.
Brent crude was down to $32.51 a barrel, while WTI fell to $30.93.