Crude $90 Forecast

Oil will fall next week as Libyan rebels consolidate their hold on the country after deposing leader Muammar Qaddafi and begin taking steps to restore crude exports, a WorldWatch News survey showed.
$90 Forecast
Standard Chartered Plc cut its third-quarter price forecast this week on weaker-than-expected demand in the U.S. New York-traded West Texas Intermediate crude may average $90 a barrel in the three months ending Sept. 30 from a previous forecast of $98, according to a report dated Aug. 24 by Helen Henton, a London-based analyst.
Total products supplied, a measure of fuel consumption, has fallen 5.2 percent to 19.2 million barrels a day in the two weeks ended Aug. 19, according to an Aug. 24 report from the U.S. Energy Department.
Crude oil for October delivery increased $2.96, or 3.6 percent, to $85.37 a barrel this week on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures have fallen 6.6 percent this year.
The oil survey has correctly predicted the direction of futures 48 percent of the time since its start in April 2004.
WorldWatch survey of oil analysts and traders, conducted each Thursday, asks for an assessment of whether crude oil futures are likely to rise, fall or remain neutral in the coming week. The results were:
RISE 6
NEUTRAL 5
FALL 12