Oil price forecasts are falling once again, as analysts are increasingly expecting a bleaker 2016 for the energy industry.
FuelFix.com reports that both debt evaluation group Fitch Ratings and financial services firm Raymond James today announced they have lowered their expected oil prices through 2016. Both groups join a growing number of analysts who are calling oil’s problems too tough to solve this year or next.
Fitch says it’s now expecting U.S. oil to average $50 per barrel in 2016 and $60 per barrel in 2017. The group also cut its Brent crude forecast, the global benchmark, to $55 per barrel in 2016 and $65 per barrel in 2017.
Raymond James, meanwhile, is pushing its 2015 U.S. oil forecast to an average of $50 per barrel through all of 2015 and $55 per barrel in 2016. That’s slightly higher than Fitch’s 2016 outlook, but $10 per barrel lower than the previous Raymond James estimate.
Raymond James says its cut comes after Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq have continued to pump ever more oil despite low prices. The firm isn’t expecting a substantial oil recovery until 2017 and 2018, barring a large supply disruption.
