Oil Price To Average $85 For Next 12 Months: Survey

The oil price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude will average US$85 per barrel for the next 12 months, according to a recent survey of Canadian oil and gas industry executives conducted by Raymond James. Oil prices have slumped in recent weeks, largely due to market jitters about the health of the global banking sector following the collapse of two U.S. regional lenders and the takeover of Credit Suisse by rival UBS. The North American benchmark crude price fell to as low as US$64 per barrel on March 20, but has since recovered to about US$74.

Raymond James says it collected responses from executives at 48 Canadian exploration and production companies between March 15 and 24. Analyst Jeremy McCrea notes the US$85 per barrel prediction for the next year represents a 21 per cent increase from the 12-month strip price of US$70 when the survey was conducted.

Source: Yahoo Finance