Oil prices will trade near $70 per barrel for the rest of the year supported by the global economic recovery and a slower-than-expected return of Iranian supplies, with further gains limited by new coronavirus variants, a Reuters poll showed on Friday. The survey of 38 participants forecast Brent would average $68.76 per barrel, up slightly from June’s $67.48 estimate. Brent has averaged about $66.57 so far this year. “The wax and wane of COVID-19 waves will have more of an influence on sentiment rather than supply and demand fundamentals during the rest of the year, as we do not expect politicians to impose hard and broad-based lockdown measures anymore,” said Julius Baer analyst Carsten Menke. “Oil politics will remain another source of volatility, especially if prices do overshoot in summer, which would raise the pressure on producers to react.” Earlier this month the Organization of […]