Bank of America's (BofA) Global Research has revised its 2024 Brent and WTI oil price forecasts, citing heightened geopolitical tensions and OPEC+ maintained supply curbs, as per a Reuters report on Wednesday. They now expect Brent to average $86 and WTI $81 per barrel this year, with both peaking around $95 per barrel in summer. Currently, Brent crude is trading around $89 per barrel, and WTI around $85. BofA attributes the shift to improving economic growth expectations, projecting a global oil market deficit of approximately 450,000 barrels per day in Q2 and Q3 2024. Geopolitical unrest has further stimulated oil demand through extended trade routes and disrupted supply by damaging Russian energy infrastructure. Notably, a Ukrainian drone recently targeted Russia's third-largest oil refinery, impacting processing capacity by around 155,000 barrels per day. OPEC+ members, spearheaded by Saudi Arabia and Russia, have agreed to prolong voluntary oil output cuts of 2.2 million barrels per day into the second quarter.
