FT: Oil prices could rise if Iran conflict drags on

Goldman Sachs has raised its oil price forecast amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, with Brent crude projected to reach around $90 per barrel in the final quarter of the year, up from a previous projection of $80.

Under the bank’s revised estimates, the forecast for US crude has also been lifted to about $83 per barrel from $75, Caliber.Az reports, citing the Financial Times.

Experts expect Middle East oil exports to normalise only by the end of June, rather than mid-May as previously assumed.

Oil markets remain highly volatile.

Brent prices have risen by around 3% to $108.5 per barrel amid a lack of progress in US–Iran negotiations.

Shipping activity in the Strait of Hormuz has also been disrupted, with only one LNG tanker and two cargo vessels reportedly passing through the waterway on April 27, both en route to Oman.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov