Report: Standard Chartered sees Brent at $70-75 by year end

MANILA, Jan 28 (PRIME) -- Standard Chartered Bank said Thursday it expects oil prices to rebound strongly this year, with the Brent crude possibly rising to as high as U.S. $75 a barrel, MarketWatch agency reported.

Marios Maratheftis, chief economist at Standard Chartered, said that a rapid drop in supply was likely to take place in the second half of the year, as oil producers grappled with high production costs and the expiration of hedging contracts they used to cover the difference.

"We see this from the supply-demand dynamics," said Mr. Maratheftis, adding that the talk of a supply glut was based on only one million barrels of excessive supply.

He said the bank expected oil prices to rise between $70 and $75 a barrel by the fourth quarter. He said that projection already took into account the entry of Iran, which Standard Chartered estimated would add 400,000 barrels a day to global supply.

Global oil prices have fallen sometimes to below $30 a barrel since the start of this year. On Thursday, the price of Brent crude, the global benchmark, was at $33.19.

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