Goldman retains US$149 oil price target

GOLDMAN Sachs Group Inc, Wall Street’s most profitable bank, is maintaining its US$149 a barrel year-end price target for crude oil because inventories remain “extremely low” and the market is vulnerable to supply shocks.

Oil prices may fall in the “near term” on rising inventories in developed nations as US and Japanese imports increase, Goldman analysts Jeffrey Currie and Giovanni Serio said in a report. Still, the low inventory levels that underscore the risk of price “spikes” haven’t been eliminated.

New York crude oil futures for August delivery are down 10.4 per cent this week and are poised for a record weekly slump in dollar terms after declining more than US$14 a barrel since July 11. - Bloomberg