"Brent crude could drop to $45 in 2021 despite positive vaccine news, Fitch Ratings says"

" \n Fitch Ratings expects Brent prices to drop to $45 per barrel in 2021 \u2014 even though there\u2019s good news on the vaccine front, the credit rating agency said this week. \n \n\n \n That\u2019s close to 9% lower than what a Refinitiv Eikon poll is predicting. \n \n\n \n Brent crude could be around $49.35 next year, with $50 being the most common forecast, according to a survey of 36 analysts. \n \n\n \n The\u00a0 U.S. Energy Information Administration expects the international benchmark to be at $46.59. \n \n\n \n Dmitry Marinchenko, senior director at Fitch Ratings, said the company is more cautious. \n \n\n \n \u201cWe expect prices to be, on average, at $45 next year for Brent,\u201d he told CNBC\u2019s\u00a0 \u201cCapital Connection\u201d \u00a0on Friday. \u201cThis assumes that the demand will remain weak until at least the second half of the year, because the progress with mass vaccination probably will not be very quick.\u201d \n \n\n \n This week, the U.K. became the first country to approve Pfizer and BioNTech\u2019s Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use. It is set to be given to medical workers from next week. \n \n\n \n But doctors have warned that it will likely take months before vaccines are widely available. \n \n\n \n Oil prices rose when a few pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer - BioNTech and Moderna , announced high efficacy rates of more than 90% last month. \n \n\n \n Still, Marinchenko said vaccines will \u201cprobably not have a significant impact\u201d on oil demand until the second half of 2021. \n \n\n \n \u201cWith weak demand, and with OPEC trying to manage supply to avoid large surpluses or deficits in the market, we expect prices to be at $45 next year,\u201d he said. \n \n\n \n An offshore drilling platform stands in shallow waters at the Manifa offshore oilfield, operated by Saudi Aramco, in Manifa, Saudi Arabia.Simon Dawson | Bloomberg | Getty Images \n \n\n \n OPEC and its allies on Thursday made a deal to\u00a0increase production by 500,000 barrels per day from January\u00a0\u2014 much lower than the original agreement in April to raise output by 2 million barrels a day. \n \n\n \n That brings the production cuts to 7.2 million bpd from 2021. \n \n\n \n Both oil benchmarks rose on Friday, with Brent up 2.01% at $49.69 and West Texas Intermediate gaining 2.02% to trade at $46.56. \n "

"Brent crude could drop to $45 in 2021 despite positive vaccine news, Fitch Ratings says"

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