London — HSBC revised down its Brent crude price forecasts for 2025 and 2026, citing escalating trade tensions that have trimmed expectations for global crude demand growth.
The UK lender said, in a report released today, April 15, that it downgraded its forecast for the price of benchmark Brent crude this year to $68.5 per barrel, and $65 next year.
It also trimmed its global demand growth to 700,000 barrels per day (bpd) for 2025 and 800,000 bpd for 2026 (versus 900,000 bpd previously for both years), given the prospect of a 1% pullback in global GDP, Reuters reported.
Vacillating US trade policies sparked uncertainty for global oil markets and prompted OPEC to slash its demand outlook by 150,000 bpd on Monday, according to HSBC.
