Brent seen averaging 84.73bbl this year, WTI to average 79.20bbl
Macroeconomic risks overshadow tight fundamentals analyst
OPEC output cut threat remains with oil below 80bbl analyst
For a table of crude price forecasts, click

May 31 Reuters Oil prices will creep up from current levels as major producer group OPEC maintains restrictions on supplies, but economic headwinds will keep them below 90 a barrel this year, a Reuters poll showed on Wednesday.

A survey of 43 economists and analysts forecast Brent crude would average 84.73 a barrel in 2023, down from the 87.1 consensus in April and current levels of around 73.

Most analysts expect oil to trade around the 80level per barrel this year, with data and analytics firm Kpler noting that macroeconomic concerns are a major driver of crude prices this year, overshadowing relatively tight fundamentals.

The global benchmark has averaged around 80.95 per barrel so far this year.

West Texas Intermediate WTI U.S. crude is expected to average 79.20 a barrel in 2023, down from the previous month39;s 82.23 consensus.

Worries around robust monetary tightening, bank failures in the U.S., the risk of a U.S. debt default and China39;s uneven economic performance have limited the market39;s upside even though it falls into deficit in the second half of the year, Matthew Sherwood, lead commodities analyst at EIU, said.

But possible further production cuts from OPEC, which groups the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting…