The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) lowered its West Texas Intermediate (WTI) spot average price forecasts for 2025 and 2026 in its latest short term energy outlook (STEO), which was released on May 6.
According to that STEO, the EIA now sees the WTI spot price averaging $61.81 per barrel this year and $55.24 per barrel next year. In its previous STEO, which was released in April, the EIA projected that the WTI spot price would average $63.88 per barrel in 2025 and $57.48 per barrel in 2026. Both STEOs highlighted that the WTI spot price came in at $76.60 per barrel in 2024.
The EIA’s latest STEO forecast that the WTI spot price will average $60.85 per barrel in the second quarter of 2025, $58 per barrel in the third quarter, $57 per barrel in the fourth quarter, $56 per barrel across the first and second quarters of next year, $55 per barrel in the third quarter, and $54 per barrel in the fourth quarter of 2026. This STEO pointed out that the WTI spot price averaged $71.85 per barrel in the first quarter of 2025.
In its April STEO, the EIA projected that the WTI spot price would come in at $62.33 per barrel in the second quarter of 2025, $61.67 per barrel in the third quarter, $60 per barrel in the fourth quarter, $59 per barrel in the first quarter of 2026, $58 per barrel in the second quarter, $57 per barrel in the third quarter, and $56 per barrel in the fourth quarter. This STEO also highlighted that the WTI spot price averaged $71.85 per barrel in the first quarter of 2025.
Back in its March STEO, the EIA forecast that the WTI spot price average would come in at $70.68 per barrel in 2025 and $64.97 per barrel in 2026. That STEO also highlighted that the 2024 WTI spot price averaged $76.60 per barrel.
In a Standard Chartered Bank report sent to Rigzone by the company’s commodities research head, Paul Horsnell, late Tuesday, Standard Chartered forecast that the NYMEX WTI basis nearby future crude oil price will average $58 per barrel in 2025, $75 per barrel in 2026, and $80 per barrel in 2027.
That report showed that Standard Chartered sees the commodity coming in at $50 per barrel in the second quarter of this year, $49 per barrel in the third quarter, $62 per barrel in the fourth quarter, $68 per barrel in the first quarter of 2026, $73 per barrel in the second quarter, and $78 per barrel in the third quarter.
A research note sent to Rigzone by the JPM Commodities Research team on May 3 showed that J.P. Morgan expected the WTI crude price to average $62 per barrel in 2025 and $54 per barrel in 2026.
In that research note, J.P. Morgan projected that the commodity will average $63 per barrel in the second quarter of this year, $59 per barrel in the third quarter, $57 per barrel in the fourth quarter, $51 per barrel in the first quarter of next year, $53 per barrel across the second and third quarters of 2026, and $56 per barrel in the fourth quarter.
In a BMI report sent to Rigzone by the Fitch Group on Friday, BMI projected that the front month WTI crude price will average $65 per barrel in 2025 and $68 per barrel in 2026.
In a Stratas Advisors report sent to Rigzone by the Stratas team late Monday, the company highlighted that “the price of WTI ended the [previous] week at $58.29 [per barrel] after closing the previous week at $63.02 [per barrel].
To contact the author, email andreas.exarheas@rigzone.com
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