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London - Oil prices could strike 85 dollars per barrel by the end of 2009, as the global economy recovers and an energy shortage emerges, US investment bank Goldman Sachs forecast on Thursday.
"As the financial crisis eases, an energy shortage lies ahead," Goldman Sachs warned in a report.
"The recent rally in prices is likely to be but the first stage in the oil price rally that we expect will accompany a recovery in economic activity.
"We are raising our end-of-2009 price forecast (for New York crude) to 85 dollars per barrel from $65 per barrel," the bank added.
On Tuesday, New York's main futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in July, had struck a seven-month peak of $69.05 on the back of the weak dollar and global economic recovery hopes.
"We continue to expect that a combination of demand stabilisation and Opec production cuts will help draw inventories back to normal levels by the end of the third quarter," the bank added on Thursday.
"This improvement in fundamentals (of supply and demand) will likely be reflected in ... higher prices."
Further ahead, Goldman predicted that prices could strike $95 per barrel by the end of 2010.
After plunging from record highs above $147 last July, oil prices touched multi-year lows in December, at one point nearing $32 a barrel.
They have since clawed back ground, bouncing higher this week as the weak US currency made dollar-priced crude cheaper for buyers holding stronger currencies, in turn stimulating demand and pushing up prices.
The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which pumps 40% of world oil, cut its production target three times late last year to stabilise slumping prices that ravaged the 12-nation cartel's revenues.
- AFP