: EIA lifts price outlooks for WTI and Brent oil, lowers natural-gas price forecast

The Energy Information Administration on Tuesday raised its 2023 and 2024 forecasts for U.S. and global benchmark crude-oil prices, but reduced its price forecasts for U.S. natural gas, according to the monthly Short-Term Energy Outlook report. The government agency raised its 2023 forecast for West Texas Intermediate crude prices to $74.60 a barrel, up 1.3% from the May forecast. For 2024, it increased its forecast by 13% to $78.51. For Brent crude, it lifted its 2023 forecast by 1.1% to $79.54 and its 2024 forecast by 12.1% to $83.51. For Henry Hub spot natural-gas prices, the EIA forecast a price of $2.66 per million British thermal units, down 8.8% from the May report. For 2024, it predicts a price of $3.42, down 8% from its previous forecast. In Tuesday dealings, July WTI crude oil CLN23 was down 33 cents, or 0.5%, to $71.82 a barrel, while July natural gas NGN23 was at $2.247 per million Btus, up nearly 0.1%, on the New York Mercantile Exchange. August Brent crude BRNQ23 on ICE Futures Europe traded at $76.27 a barrel, down 44 cents, or 0.6%.

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