Azerbaijan, Baku, Aug. 22 / Trend A.Badalova /
The U.S. investment bank Morgan Stanley lowered forecasts for oil prices in 2012.
Based on the bank's new forecast, the average price of Brent North Sea oil will amount to $103 per barrel in 2012, which is less by $10 percent than in the previous forecasts. Earlier, the American analysts expect the figure at $113 per barrel in 2012.
Last week, Morgan Stanley lowered the forecasts for global growth for 2011-2012. The bank's analysts expect global GDP growth at 3.9 percent in 2011 and at 3.8 percent - in 2012 compared to 4.2 and 4.5 percent, respectively, they predicted earlier.
The decline on forecasts for the world economy, along with the negative macroeconomic indicators in the U.S., has led to the fall in oil prices on the world markets.
Following the trading on Friday, Aug.19, the September futures for WTI oil fell $ 0.12 to $82.26 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On the London Stock Exchange, the October contracts for North Sea Brent rose by $ 1.76 to $108.75 per barrel.