Goldman Sachs still sees oil rallying over $80 despite concerns over OPEC meeting

Akos Stiller | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Khalid Bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih, Saudi Arabia’s energy minister and president of OPEC, speaks during a news conference following the 172nd Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) meeting in Vienna, Austria, on Thursday, May 25, 2017.

Goldman Sachs still expects the price of oil to climb back above $80 a barrel over the coming months, despite growing concerns over higher OPEC crude production, escalating trade wars and rising inventories.

Crude futures were mixed Monday, following a week of losses partly prompted by elevated fears that Saudi Arabia and Russia could soon move to ramp up oil production.

Nonetheless, analysts at Goldman said the prospect of OPEC producers announcing an increase to crude production levels later this week could actually have a bullish impact on oil prices.

“Our updated global supply-demand balance continues to point to further declines in inventories and higher oil prices in the second half of 2018,” the bank said, reaffirming its previous Brent forecast of $82.50 during the summer.

“We continue, however, to view the risks to this forecast as skewed to the upside, even if concerns over demand and higher OPEC production weigh on prices near term,” Goldman added.