The French Foreign Trade Insurance Company (Coface) expects a Brent price of 60 dollars. A rebound in manufacturing activity and a slow recovery in global transportation are expected to boost oil demand, she said.

Oil prices ended higher on Monday as optimism about the strength of global demand overcame market fears about a drop in consumption in India, overwhelmed by the pandemic. A barrel of Brent North Sea oil for June delivery, which was the first day of trading as the benchmark contract, ended at $67.56, up 80 cents or 1.20%. In New York, the US barrel of WTI for June gained 91 cents or 1.42%, to $64.49.
Coface raises its Brent price forecast to $60 on average over 2021, instead of $50 in its previous forecasts. Since the end of last October, the price of international benchmark Brent crude oil futures has risen by around 70%, to an average of $61 in the first quarter of 2021. Prices have thus regained their pre-pandemic level.

On the demand side, Coface estimates that oil consumption will pick up in step with economic growth. While on the supply side, production growth is expected to be slower than consumption.