ABN Amro sees oil prices lower for longer

[LONDON] ABN Amro on Friday cut its oil prices forecasts, citing oversupply and said oil prices will remain"lower for longer."

The bank cut its 2016 Brent and WTI price forecast to US$50 per barrel from its prior view of US$65 and US$60, respectively. "It is extremely difficult to pinpoint the exact timing of the expected oil price recovery," said Hans van Cleef, senior energy economist at ABN Amro.

"In the near term, the news flow is mainly dominated by the development of US crude inventories, geopolitical tensions and the Opec policy. This leads to ongoing high volatility of the oil price."

ABN Amro said it still expects a moderate appreciation crude prices in the course of 2016 based on several factors like economic expansion in the US, Europe and Asia, and negative impact on global oil production due to investment cuts in the energy sector.

REUTERS