L.C.Nøttaasen / Foter

While the overwhelming general consensus is that oil prices could head north of USD140 per barrel before the end of the summer, a small group of analysts are suggesting that the market may pause for breadth and climb down. READ MORE HERE

January 8, 2012

By Fitch Ratings

Spending by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2012 will likely be higher than budgeted, but the country will still run a fiscal surplus of 4% of GDP, says Fitch Ratings.

Spending growth will moderate in 2012 compared with last year. In 2011, spending growth reached 24%, the highest in a decade. The government raised public sector wages, created government jobs, injected capital into state-owned lenders and pledged more resources for housing. Capital spending - mainly on infrastructure - exceeded 12% of GDP.
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It’s only the second week of the year and oil analysts are already in a frenzy, making bold predictions for crude prices - from alpha bearish to mega bullish.

The latest bold prediction came from Capital Economics who have thrown a challenge to other analysts by predicting that Brent crude will average around USD85 this year. READ MORE HERE

Oil and gold are poised to benefit from the dithering policies of Western leaders and the possible launch of the Fed’s Operation Twist. Other commodities are set see a run-up thanks to tight supplies.

The world’s major commodities had a phenomenal run in the past two years, but cooled down in the first six months of 2011.

Within the first six months of the year, only two commodities - silver and coal - saw a double-digit rise and only six of the 14 main commodities were in positive territory. READ MORE HERE

Every analyst has their spreadsheet out and there are plenty of predictions out there as far as oil prices are concerned. But will we see crude scaling the $147 Everest as it did in June 2008?

Here is a guide to some analysts’ forecasts for oil prices over the medium-term: READ MORE

Erste Research Group’s excellent report on oil crunches some fascinating data on oil and its current short-term and long-term influence on the global economy. We picked ten charts to highlights some key findings from the report.
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Oil prices are poised to hit the magical $100 per barrel once again and economists, analysts have taken out the proverbial calculators to see what it means for oil-based economies of the Middle East. Read More