CRUDE oil prices may reach US$150 a barrel this summer because of lower United States stockpiles and falling supply, said Jeffrey Currie, head of global commodities research at Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
Goldman, at the Asia Oil and Gas Conference in Kuala Lumpur yesterday, also forecast oil would end the year at about US$150. The likelihood of that has increased as US crude oil inventories declined, an "extraordinary event" before demand peaks during the summer.
Russian oil production fell to an 18-month low in April while Mexican output also declined, highlighting the inability of nations outside the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to increase supply.
US crude stockpiles have dropped 5.8 percent in the three weeks through May 30, according to the US Department of Energy. That compares with an increase of 2.5 percent in the same period a year earlier.