Oil Prices drop; World Bank lowers 2015 Forecast to $52 Barrel

New York, Oct 27: Oil prices fell as traders worried that global supplies exceeded demand. For the week ended October 16, US crude supplies on Monday gained eight million barrels to 476.6 million barrels, 98.9 million barrels more than a year before, Xinhua cited the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) weekly report.

The World Bank lowered its 2015 forecast for crude oil prices from $57 per barrel in its July report to $52 per barrel in its recent quarterly commodity update.

The revised forecast reflects a further slowing in global economic performance, high current oil inventories, and expectations that Iranian oil exports will rise after the lifting of international sanctions, according to the World Bank’s new Commodity Markets Outlook.

The West Texas Intermediate for December delivery moved down 62 cents to settle at $43.98 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for December delivery decreased 45 cents to close at $47.54 a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.