Crude oil price forecast for 2011 cut to $88 by ANZ Bank

22 September 2010 22 September 2010

BonTrade

Australia’s ANZ bank lowered its WTI crude oil price forecast for crude oil on the NYMEX by one percent for 2011, citing higher than average inventories and slowing economic growth in the US.

Oil futures will average $88 a barrel in 2011, Mark Pervan, a senior commodity analyst at ANZ, said in a report today. ANZ also cut its 2010 price estimate by 1.7 percent.

“A high exposure to a soft US economic recovery and a large overhang of US crude oil stocks has tempered our view,” Pervan said. Inventories in developed nations have climbed to 60 days’ consumption compared with a normal 53 days, he said.

Oil futures have averaged $77.73 a barrel so far in 2010. The contract for November delivery rose as much as 63 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $75.60 a barrel today and was trading at $75.22 09.00 GMT on the NYMEX today.

Concerns about the rate of US economic expansion are holding back gains in the oil futures markets.