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Fitch Ratings said today that it has forecast Brent blend of crude oil will average $55 a barrel next year and $65 a barrel in 2017.
This compares with the Brent blend price of $41 a barrel on 8 December.
Fitch Ratings said that, in the past 12 months, it downgraded five sovereigns where oil revenues accounted for a large proportion of general government and/or current external receipts. Another three – Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, and Republic of Congo – were not downgraded but saw outlook revisions to negative from stable.
“Rating actions in the last 12 months were consistent with our division of oil exporters into three groups,” Fitch Ratings said. “The downgrade and outlook revisions came in the most vulnerable and middle groups, while the least vulnerable sovereigns have seen no change to their sovereign ratings or outlooks.”