Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec.5
By Sara Israfilbayova – Trend:
The average price for Brent oil will stand at $65 per barrel in 2019, Deputy Director of the Analytical Credit Rating Agency (ACRA) Vasily Tanurko told Trend.
This is while in the first half of 2019, the average crude prices will near $70 per barrel, he noted.
Speaking about the positive factors for the oil market, Tanurko highlighted the extension of the OPEC+ deal to curb crude production.
“The fate of the agreement will be clear after Dec.6-7 meetings of OPEC and OPEC+. It is highly likely that the participants will decide to reduce the oil production within 1.3 million barrels per day, as it was announced during the G20 meeting. In this case, we expect some increase in Brent oil prices within $60-$70 per barrel in the first half of 2019. However, if the participants quit the agreement, the prices will stand at $40-$50 per barrel,” he said.
The recently announced reduction of crude output in Canada by 325,000 barrels per day will also support oil prices in early 2019, Tanurko believes.
Further, commenting on the negative factors, ACRA deputy director said that the increase in shale oil production and commissioning of new pipelines in the US will adversely affect prices in the second half of 2019.
“The easing of Fed monetary policy as the US growth slows down and, as a result, the depreciation of dollar against world currencies in the second half of 2019 are also negative factors,” he added.