Brent Oil to march forward to $70 as OPEC extends production cuts – ANZ

OPEC+ countries agreed to extend the majority of petrol production cuts through April. The surprising move came despite previous gains in the black gold. WTI Crude Oil surged above $64 and economists at ANZ Bank forecast Brent Crude Oil at $70 in the near-term.

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Key quotes

“OPEC+ alliance surprised the market by extending production cuts at its meeting with non-OPEC producers. The ministers approved the continuation of current levels, except in the case of Russia and Kazakhstan which are allowed to increase by 130kb/d and 20kb/d respectively.”

“ We are upgrading our short-term (0-3 month) target for Brent crude to $70/bbl. Investors are likely to add bullish bets, comfortable that Saudi Arabia and OPEC will provide a backstop should the market hit any hurdles.”

“Any further upside will be determined by how OPEC and Saudi Arabia tackle the transition back to full production. Following this meeting, that process looks likely to be longer than we originally thought.”