With demand recovering, the U.S. Energy Agency (EIA) has again raised its price forecast for U.S. light crude oil (WTI) and Brent in 2021. The announcement was made in a monthly report published last Tuesday. The US agency expects crude production of 11.08 million barrels per day in the United States this year, an increase of 0.5% compared to its previous estimate. Thus, it forecasts an average price of 61.85 dollars for WTI light crude, an increase of 5% compared to its estimate in May. It also raised its forecast for the price of Brent by 4.7% to bring it to 65.19 dollars a barrel.

At the same time, the EIA revised down its forecasts by 0.4% for 2022, anticipating an average price of the WTI barrel of 56.74 dollars and a price of Brent of 60.49 dollars, due to the gradual rise in the production and an expected slowdown in demand. WTI crude futures for July delivery gained 0.6% intraday in New York to $69.67 a barrel. The price of Brent gained 31 cents, or 0.4%, to 71.80 dollars on the ICE Europe.