Analysts forecast oil price at $75 a barrel next year

Baku. 23 November. REPORT.AZ/ Brent crude oil will recover to average above $75/b next year, according to top banks and oil brokers surveyed by S&P Global Platts, Report informs. 

Front-month spot Brent will average $75.50/b in 2019, down from forecasts of $78.51/b in early October, according to a survey of 11 top oil forecasters. Brent prices this year are expected to average $73.91/b, compared with $73.26/b so far and down from last month's $74.40/b survey result.

Oil prices have slumped over 25% since hitting near four-year highs of $86/b on October 3, after a series of factors weakened the market outlook. US shale output has beaten expectations, Saudi and Russian exports have surged and the US approved sanctions waivers for eight buyers of Iranian oil. Elsewhere, Libya and Iraq have continued to pump more oil than widely expected and Venezuela's oil industry has not imploded as some market watchers feared.

But with OPEC and its key producer allies set to consider resuming output cuts to tighten the market at their meeting on December 6 in Vienna, most market watchers believe prices are set to recover from current levels next year.