JP Morgan: Oil excluded to exceed $100/ barrel this year

JP Morgan analysts said in a note today, Friday, that Brent crude prices are unlikely to exceed the $100 per barrel mark this year unless major geopolitical developments occur, amid possibilities that the OPEC + group will increase supplies and recover. Russian flows by mid-2023

According to the note, it is unlikely that the OPEC + group, which includes members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and producers outside it, including Russia, will defend the level of eighty dollars and therefore it will not need to reduce production quotas this year, according to Reuters. “

It indicated that the conglomerate may instead add 400,000 barrels per day to production

Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said on Thursday that the current OPEC+ agreement to cut production target by two million barrels per day will remain in effect until the end of the year.

JPMorgan analysts said that with Russian production expected to recover fully by June and high price levels preventing the United States from buying back to boost its strategic petroleum reserves, the supply-demand balance gap is likely to narrow.

Brent crude futures are trading on Friday near $84 a barrel, and are heading for a weekly decline amid expectations that any tightening monetary policy in the United States may undermine demand.

JP Morgan kept its estimates of oil demand growth from China, the largest importer, at 770,000 barrels per day.

Analysts expect that China will import record quantities of crude in 2023 due to the increased demand for fuel, mainly due to the recovery of movement and travel after the abolition of Covid-19 restrictions.