- Oil prices could tread as high as $100 a barrel in 2024, Goldman Sachs' Jeff Currie said.
- The outgoing commodities chief pointed to demand outweighing the supply of crude.
Oil prices are heading into the triple-digits next year, as a supercycle lifts the commodities sector, according to Goldman Sachs' outgoing commodities chief Jeff Currie.
Brent crude, the international benchmark, will hit $100 a barrel in 2024, Goldman strategists said in a Tuesday note. That's largely because of a supply-demand imbalance in the oil market, which is likely to worsen over the next year and push prices higher, Currie said.
Currie, who has warned of triple-digit oil prices since late 2022, said there's increased demand for crude, noting that last week saw prices near $100.
"What was driving it is demand is exceeding expectations. You're up more than half a million barrels per day above even our bullish expectations," he said in an interview with CNBC on Tuesday.
He also reiterated his call for a commodities "supercycle," referring to a bullish period where commodity prices climb as a result of chronic underinvestment and undersupply.
Demand outweighing supply has helped pushed crude prices higher through 2023, with oil surging to a 10-month-high after OPEC+ implemented its hefty supply cuts this summer. Brent crude traded around $95 a barrel on Thursday, while West Texas Intermediate crude traded around $92 a barrel.
While Currie estimated demand destruction would occur when oil hits $125-$130, experts say rising oil prices spell more pain for Americans and potentially more trouble for the US economy.
That's because higher prices at the gas pump could translate into weaker consumer sentiment, which could hit spending, corporate profits, and eventually, economic growth.