Citigroup Says Crude Oil Will Reach $60 Per Barrel in a year

Despite the current economic downturn and the projected second phase of COVID-19, Citigroup, a New-York based financial service company, has said oil price could hit $60 per barrel in the next 12 months.

Citigroup disclosed this on Thursday during a virtual EMEA Media Summit titled – ‘Navigating the Future: What’s Next in a Post-COVID-19 World’.

“After a substantial underperformance in the last six months relative to several other commodities, crude will eventually bounce back to around $60 per barrel over the next 12 months,” Max Layton, European Head of Commodities Strategy, Citigroup said while giving a presentation on the outlook for commodities in the second half of 2020, and into 2021.

This means Brent crude oil would rise by at least 50 percent from the current level of $42 per barrel in the next 12 months.

“It’s going to be a function of the demand and supply but recently we have been seeing a spike in the demand for some of the commodities,” said Atiq Rehman, Head of EMEA Emerging Markets, Citigroup.

“A lot of these economies are heavily commodity-dependent, and perhaps, in the past have been guilty of not diversifying when they come under pressure. I think perhaps, this recent moves will push them to diversify away from simply commodities,” Grant Carson, Head of TRUK And Non-Presence Countries, Citigroup, stated citing Russian as one of the countries that have recorded success in diversifying away from crude oil.