BofA forecasts Brent oil to average $80 in H2 2023

Oil drilling rigs

Matty Zhao, co-head of China equity research and head of Asia Pacific basic materials, oil and gas research at BofA, forecasts Brent crude to average around $80 a barrel in the second half of 2023.

“That is because we are seeing a tighter supply in the second half, with Saudi cutting one million barrels starting from July and extended into August. And this may further expand if the supply and demand did not balance in the future,” Zhao told Bloomberg Markets Asia.

“And then now, Russia is also joining the camp as well,” Zhao added. “However, we are also concerned on the demand perspective. So, our [BofA] is forecasting GDP growth globally of only 3%, versus 3.6% last year.”

On July 3, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said Moscow will cut oil exports in August, in the efforts to ensure that the oil market remains balanced.