Oil Near $70 as U.S. Shale Surge Looms Over Bullish Banks

Brent crude traded near $70 a barrel as the specter of expanding U.S. supply was weighed against Wall Street banks’ growing faith in a price rally.

The benchmark grade is on course to end the week lower, after being whipsawed by concern about rising American production and optimism over rosy outlooks painted by forecasters including Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

U.S. output surged above 10 million barrels a day for the first time in more than four decades in November, the Energy Information Administration reported Wednesday. The next glimpse into U.S. supply growth will come from the weekly Baker Hughes rig count on Friday. Drillers added 12 rigs in the week to Jan. 26, the most since March.

Goldman Sachs sees Brent crude reaching $75 a barrel over the next three months and climbing to $82.50 within six months. Its previous estimate for both periods was $62 a barrel. The bank’s bullish outlook is driven by its revised demand forecasts, reflecting stronger economic growth in emerging markets. A growing raft of analysts are now starting to consider the prospect of OPEC over-tightening the market.
more detail at:  https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-02-02/oil-extends-gains-above-66-after-goldman-lifts-crude-forecast

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