The U.S.' Energy Information Administration (EIA) lowered oil price forecasts for 2020 by $2 per barrel based on expectations that global oil inventories will increase next year, according to its Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) report for October.
The report released Tuesday showed the estimate for international benchmark Brent crude next year has now been lowered to $60 a barrel, compared to September's STEO report when $62 per barrel was forecast. The price expectation for American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was also lowered to $54.50 per barrel for 2020, from the expectation of $56.50 a barrel in the previous month's report.
"EIA expects downward oil price pressure to emerge in the coming months as global oil inventories rise during the first half of 2020," the report said.
- U.S. output forecast revised up for 2019
The EIA has raised its production estimate in 2019 from the world's largest crude producer, the U.S., by 100,000 barrels per day (bpd). According to October's STEO, U.S. crude oil production is expected to average 12.3 million bpd this year, up from 12.2 million bpd from the previous month's report. However, the U.S.' crude oil production expectation for 2020 remained unchanged at 13.2 million bpd.
(Anadolu Agency)
