Baku, Azerbaijan, March 7
By Aygun Badalova - Trend:
Analysts of UK economic research and consulting company Capital Economics expects oil prices to recover moderately by the end of 2016 with Brent price to reach $45 a barrel in the fourth quarter of the year.
Oil prices rose again last week as sentiment towards commodities in general improved and US production of crude oil fell for its sixth consecutive week, according to the Capital Economics' report obtained by Trend.
The UK analysts forecast Brent price to amount to $35 a barrel in the first and second quarters of 2016 and $40 a barrel in the third quarter of the year.
In the first quarter of 2017, analysts forecast Brent price to average $50 a barrel.
Oil prices opened strongly on Monday after rallying in the previous session, supported by tightening supply and strengthening sentiment around a market recovery, Reuters reported.
Front-month Brent LCOc1 crude futures were trading at $39.20 per barrel at 8.27 p.m. ET, up almost half a dollar and over a percentage point from their last settlement. That is almost a third above 2016 lows from mid-February, when prices hit levels not seen since 2003.
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were trading at $36.36 a barrel, up 44 cents and from their last close and 40 percent above February lows.
The US energy firms last week cut oil rigs for an 11th week in a row to the lowest level since December 2009, data showed on Friday, as producers slashed their drilling rig count to focus on uncompleted wells amid low oil prices. Drillers removed eight oil rigs in the week ended March 4, bringing the total rig count down to 392, oil services company Baker Hughes Inc (BHI.N) said in its closely followed report.
Reportedly the meeting of oil producing countries will be held in Russia March 20.