Goldman Sachs stated that oil prices are likely to exceed $100 per barrel next week if no signs emerge of a resolution to the severe crisis disrupting oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz.
According to Reuters, the bank intends to reconsider its oil price forecasts soon if no evidence supports its assumption of a gradual return to normal oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz within the next few days. Its current forecasts for Brent crude are $80 per barrel in March and $70 per barrel in the second quarter.
The bank added: “We now also believe that oil prices, especially refined products, are likely to exceed the peaks of 2008 and 2022 if the decline in oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz continues throughout the month of March.”
Crude oil is expected to record its strongest weekly gains since the extreme volatility of the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020, after the conflict in the Middle East led to a halt in shipping and energy exports through the vital Strait of Hormuz.
