Baku, Azerbaijan, April 5
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
Oil prices are forecast to average $67 a barrel in 2019, slightly below the 2018 average, Trend report with reference to the World Bank.
“Oil prices have been rising since the beginning of the year, with Brent crude climbing above $65 a barrel in mid-February, driven by a fall in the global oil supply of more than 2 million barrels a day, mainly as a result of planned production cuts by Saudi Arabia and other members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC),” WB said in its Europe and Central Asia Economic Update, Spring 2019: Financial Inclusion.
The prices of metals and most agricultural commodities fell in the second half of 2018, following the imposition of new U.S. tariffs on imports from China; they have been slowly drifting back up in 2019, according to WB estimates.
“Negotiations between China and the United States may avert further increases or roll back existing tariffs between the two countries, but trade tensions are likely to persist,” reads the report.
---
Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn