(MENAFN- ProactiveInvestors)
Oil futures plunged to a five and a half year low after Goldman Sachs cut its crude outlook predicting prices will remain low for a lengthy period.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil for February delivery fell 4.7% to close at US$46.07 a barrel after trading as low as US$45.90.
The close was the lowest since April 2009.
The move followed a 0.9% loss during Friday’s regular session on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
WTI futures are down more than 57% from a June 2014 high of US$107.26 a barrel.
Brent North Sea crude oil for February lost 5.4% to $47.43 a barrel its lowest finish since March 2009.
Goldman Sachs’s energy analysts revised down their three-month forecast for WTI crude to US$41 a barrel from a previous estimate of US$70.
They see WTI at uS$39 a barrel in six months and US$65 a barrel in a year versus previous price forecasts of US$75 and US$80 respectively.
Brent is forecast at US$42 in three months US$43 in six months and US$70 in 12 months versus previous estimates of US$80 US$86 and US$90 respectively.
It cited excess U.S. storage capacity and predicted that inventories will increase over the first half of this year.
Proactive Investors Australia is the market leader in producing news articles and research reports on ASX “Small and Mid-cap” stocks with distribution in Australia UK North America and Hong Kong / China.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.