Oil trades two-week high on Russia-Ukraine war; Goldman Sachs pegs Brent to average $80/bbl in 2024 | Stock Market News

Goldman Sachs expects Brent prices to average around $80 per barrel this year, despite a 2024 deficit and geopolitical uncertainty, citing an anticipated 0.4 mb/d surplus next year, the bank said in a note on Thursday.

“Our base case is that Brent stays in a $70-85 range, with high spare capacity limiting price upside, and the price elasticity of OPEC and shale supply limiting price downside. However, the risks of breaking out are growing,” Goldman Sachs said.

Oil prices rose on Tuesday as traders eyed OPEC+ discussions on output and anticipated the potential impact of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s planned trade tariffs on Mexico and Canada.

Brent crude futures were up 42 cents, or 0.58%, at $73.43 a barrel as of 11:39 a.m. ET (1639 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were at $69.39 a barrel, up 45 cents, or 0.65%.

Both benchmarks briefly jumped more than $1 per barrel during the session.

“We popped and dropped around the time news came out of the resumption of OPEC talks,” said Phil Flynn, senior analyst at Price Futures Group.

OPEC+ nations are discussing a further delay to a planned oil output hike that was due to start in January, two sources from the producer group said, ahead of Sunday’s meeting to decide policy for the early months of 2025.

OPEC+ had planned to slowly roll back oil production cuts with small increases over many months in 2024 and 2025. But a slowdown in Chinese and global demand, and rising output outside the group, have put a damper on that plan.