Brent crude, the world's oil benchmark, will average $95.13 a barrel in 2023, the Energy Information Administration of the US Department of Energy said on Tuesday. The forecast is 1.45% more than the agency’s previous estimate of $93.75 a barrel.
In its monthly Short-Term Energy Outlook report, the EIA decreased its 2023 forecast for American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude prices to $89.13 a barrel, compared to their forecast made last month of $89.75 per barrel.
At the same time, the EIA revised up the price of Brent crude for 2022 to an average of $104.78 per barrel and WTI to $98.71 a barrel in 2022. These figures were $104.05 and $98.79 respectively in last month's report.
The Agency cautioned that the current price forecast is 'highly uncertain' due to a range of factors including the geopolitical tensions in Europe, the production decisions of OPEC+, and the growth rate of US oil and natural gas production.
According to Reuters agency, on Friday morning, Brent oil futures were trading at over $99 a barrel, while the WTI futures were trading at $93.84 a barrel.