Barclays Raises 2021 Oil Price Forecast

Barclays has raised its 2021 oil price forecast Thursday, citing weaker than expected supply from US producers in reaction to higher prices and normalizing inventories after last week's Texas storm.

"Colder-than-normal weather, especially in the southern states, has accelerated the normalization in inventories by disrupting output more than demand”, the bank commented.

Barclays increased its 2021 Brent crude oil price outlook by $7 to $62 per barrel and WTI crude price by $6 to $58 a barrel.

The bank said the lacklustre supply response by US oil producers to rising prices indicated that much stronger prices are required for incremental supplies. It expects OPEC+ to increase aggregate supply by 1.5 million bpd over the second quarter and Saudi Arabia to reverse the unilateral cut in April. The group is expected to meet on March 4th.

So far, by 07.18 GMT Brent saw a 0.6% rise to $67.41 a barrel, while WTI gained 0.5% to $63.54 a barrel.

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