Oil prices are unlikely to sustain their advance much beyond $70 a barrel in 2018, with the global market caught between OPEC driven production cuts and expanding US output, a Reuters poll showed on Wednesday.
The survey of 34 economists and analysts predicted Brent crude will average $62.37 a barrel in 2018, up from the $59.88 forecast in the previous monthly poll.
“Steady demand growth, a clear commitment to supply restraint by key OPEC producer Saudi Arabia and persistent geopolitical risks will all help to keep a floor under oil prices,” said Cailin Birch, an analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit.
“However, we expect strong production growth from the US, as well as some opportunistic selling by both OPEC and non-OPEC members later in the year, to prevent prices from rising much higher than $70 per barrel on average.”
Brent crude is set to advance for a fifth straight month and has averaged about $69 in January, but according to Reuters, analysts said the rally is unlikely to last beyond the first quarter.
