OIL PRICES

摘要

This month we are shifting from collecting forecasts for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) to forecasts for Brent, the principal international benchmark reference price.The differential between the two widened to US$20 in recent years, thanks to the US shale oil boom which boosted supply going to Cushing, Oklahoma (the delivery hub for WTI) and therefore depressed WTI. The expansion in the US Seaway pipeline, it is hoped, will relieve the supply glut and, consequently, reduce the gap between Brent and WTI. Brent has weakened on poor global demand.