- Summary:
- In this crude oil price forecast, we look at what we should expect to happen in March this year. Focus will be on OPEC+ and US rig count rise
The crude oil price rose for the fifth consecutive month in February as investors reacted to the ongoing economic recovery. The voluntary supply cuts by Saudi Arabia and the ongoing winter conditions in Texas helped play a role. What is the oil prices outlook for March?
Crude oil price news: The energy market has been relatively resilient in the past few months. Indeed, the Brent and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose to their pre-pandemic highs. In March, the focus will be on the rising US rig counts, trends in US inventories, the upcoming OPEC+ meeting, and the overall performance of the economy.
On Friday, data by Baker Hughes showed that total rigs rose by 4 to 309 last week after falling by 1 rig the week before. Later this week, OPEC+ leaders will meet to deliberate the next actions after Saudi Arabia said that it will start increasing its supplies. The crude oil price will also react to news that Iran has rejected talks with the US and the EU on nuclear weapons.
Brent crude oil price outlook
On the weekly chart, we see that the crude oil prices have been on a strong uptrend. It has even moved above the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level. Also, the uptrend is being supported by the 25-day and 50-day exponential moving averages (EMA). Therefore, in my view, the price of crude oil will continue rising as bulls target the 78.6% retracement level at $71. However, we should also not rule out a further decline below $60.
Brent technical chart
