Oil could hit US$60 before year-end, says Barron' s citing Citi analyst

Monday, July 10, 2017 - 07:28

[BENGALURU] Accelerating world oil demand and reduced supply from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) could push crude prices up to US$60 a barrel before the end of the year, according to a report from Barron' s.

The report cites research from Citigroup senior energy analyst Eric Lee, who previously called for a bear market in oil when the price was above US$100. The decline in recent weeks to a low of just over US$44 for Brent crude, the international benchmark, has made Mr Lee a short-term bull, Barron' s notes.

Mr Lee projects demand of 97.3 million barrels a day in 2017, a record high, up from 96 million in 2016, driven largely by emerging market countries such as China and India. Simultaneously, reduction in supply from Opec of about 0.7 million barrels a day versus the 2016 average should drive the price up before the end of the fourth quarter.