CALGARY: US oil prices briefly tumbled to a 28-month low below $80 per barrel yesterday after Goldman Sachs slashed its price forecasts amid further signs of lacklustre demand and booming supply, but crude later pared some losses as the US dollar slipped. The sharp slide in both Brent and US crude also triggered a flurry of short-covering, as market players who had correctly bet on oil prices falling closed some of their positions.
But the bounce failed to completely erase losses that came after Goldman Sachs cut its forecast for Brent to $85 a barrel from $100 for the first quarter of 2015 and reduced its projection for US crude to $75 from $90, making it the most bearish bank on Wall Street.
US crude for December fell to $79.44 per barrel, its lowest level since June 2012, before paring losses to trade down 34 cents at $80.65 by 1649 GMT. Brent for December fell to a low of $84.55 but also partially recovered to last trade down 73 cents on the day at $85.40 per barrel. “The main driver today has been the Goldman Sachs report, we are obviously in a down market for Brent and WTI (West Texas Intermediate),” said Tariq Zahir, a managing member at Tyche Capital Advisors. Reuters
