EIA hikes Brent price outlook for 2018 by 11%

The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) has raised its forecast on Brent crude prices by more than 11 percent for 2018, while also hiking its estimates on US crude production for both this year and next.

The agency expects Brent spot prices to average $70.68 per barrel (bbl) this year, and $65.98/bbl in 2019, EIA said in its latest short-term energy outlook.

In its April outlook, the EIA projected Brent to average $63.36/bbl in 2018 and $62.68/bbl in 2019.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices are expected to average $5/bbl lower than Brent prices in both 2018 and 2019.

The agency also increased its 2018 US crude production forecast by 0.3 percent to 10.72 million barrels per day, while raising the 2019 output forecast by 3.6 percent to 11.86 million bpd.