Wall Street's five major investment banks agree: the "darkest moment" for oil prices has not passed, and they may fall to $59 by 2026.

Notice that oil prices have experienced their worst year since the pandemic, and Wall Street believes that the decline is not yet over. According to the average predictions of Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Morgan Stanley, Brent crude oil futures, currently trading at around $62 per barrel, are expected to further decline to about $59 by 2026. This year, the international benchmark price has already dropped by 17%. The average predictions of these five banks indicate that the global oil market will face an excess of about 220,000 barrels per day next year due to global production exceeding demand growth. These banks' predicted surplus is lower than the International Energy Agency's (IEA) estimate. The IEA expects a record-breaking huge surplus of 4 million barrels per day, but also believes that adjustments by oil-producing countries may curb the size of the surplus. The issue of oil surplus is escalating Among the five major banks Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, and Bank of America, Goldman Sachs has the most pessimistic forecast with an average annual price of $56 per barrel, while Citigroup is the most optimistic with a forecast of $62. This is different from the stance that these two banks have often taken in the past. Goldman Sachs believes that oil projects postponed during the COVID-19 pandemic will come online, bringing new supply to the market. Citigroup, on the other hand, believes that ongoing stockpiling in China will prevent the surplus supply from causing a bigger impact on oil prices. JPMorgan Chase predicts that the oil surplus will be less than what the numbers show, as the OPEC+ alliance led by Saudi Arabia may reverse its strategy and significantly cut production in the middle of next year. Meanwhile, Bank of America assumes that OPEC+ will resume increasing production after a planned pause in the first quarter.