Crude 'to approach $51 in 2009'

28/04/2009

Crude oil futures will average $50.85 a barrel during trading this year, the latest poll from Reuters has found.

Its monthly survey of 30 industry analysts has shown that for the first time since July 2008, experts have raised the consensus expectation of crude prices.

Oil prices have traded around the $50 mark this month, after climbing from a low of $36 a barrel earlier this year.

"I certainly think the change in forecasts signals a bottoming out of the market, which was looking for some stability and a price range, and we seemed to have found it," said Francisco Blanch, head of global commodities research at Banc of America Securities-Merrill Lynch, explaining his reasoning for raising the estimate.

A stable oil price may in turn help to reduce fluctuations in the price of heating oil and other commodities such as heating oil.

However, seasonality is a strong driver behind heating oil prices and costs are likely to increase towards the end of the year as colder weather moves in.