Biz-Econ

World Bank raises 2016 forecast for oil prices

With the market sentiment improving and the US dollar starting to show signs of weakness, oil prices should go higher this year, according to the World Bank.In a statement on Tuesday, the World Bank said it is raising its 2016 forecast for crude oil prices to $41 per barrel from $37 per barrel, as an oversupply in markets is expected to recede.‘We expect slightly higher prices for energy commodities over the course of the year as markets rebalance after a period of oversupply,’ said John Baffes, senior economist and lead author of the Commodities Markets Outlook. ‘Still, energy prices could fall further if OPEC increases production significantly and non-OPEC production does not fall as fast as expected.’The crude oil market rebounded from a low of $25 per barrel in the middle of January to $40 per barrel in April following production disruptions in Iraq and Nigeria and a decline in non-Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries production, mainly U.S. shale. A proposed production freeze by major producers failed to materialize at a meeting in mid-April.A higher price forecast, however, doesn’t mean things are looking very optimistic for the economies in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, particularly those who are heavily dependent on oil revenues.According to Raghu Mandagolathur, senior vice president for research at Kuwait Financial Center (Markaz), oil-dependent states require an oil price higher than $41 per barrel to boost their finances.‘A re-rating of oil price to $41 will not change the fortunes for GCC much as they need an oil price much higher than that to balance their budget. Oversupply will recede for sure in 2016 but not at the pace that is desired,’ Raghu told Gulf News.‘Also, the good news should also come from the demand side as well which looks unlikely at least in 2016. I expect oil price to be range-bound between $40 to $50 with occasional spikes and crashes around this level.’ According to the World Bank, all the main commodity indexes it monitored are expected to decline in 2016 from the year before due to persistently elevated supplies.‘Energy prices, including oil, natural gas and coal, are due to fall 19.3 percent in 2016 from the previous year, a more gradual drop than the 24.7 percent slide forecast in January,’ the World Bank said.‘Non-energy commodities, such as metals and minerals, agriculture, and fertilizers, are due to decline 5.1 percent this year, a downward revision from the 3.7 per cent drop forecast in January.’