Goldman Sachs has revised its expectations for the average price of Brent crude in 2025, reducing it by 5.5% to $69 per barrel, and lowered its forecast for WTI prices by 4.3% to $66 per barrel. These are attributed to concerns about increased supply from OPEC+ and potential economic downturns stemming from the global trade war.
For 2026, the firm further reduced its projections, cutting Brent by 9% to $62 per barrel and WTI by 6.3% to $59, cautioning that these estimates might face additional downward revisions.
As of early Friday, Brent crude was trading at $69.59 per barrel, while WTI was at $66.39.
On Thursday, crude prices experienced their steepest declines since 2022 following U.S. President Donald Trump’s imposition of reciprocal tariffs and the unexpected move by eight OPEC+ countries to increase production, starting in May.
Goldman Sachs highlighted that OPEC’s ability to swiftly ramp up output reduces the chance of a price increase resulting from lower supply in the short term. The investment bank now anticipates oil demand for 2025 to be between 600,000 and 700,000 barrels per day, down from its earlier forecast of 900,000 barrels.
