Oil Could Fall to $70 a Barrel in Coming Weeks, JPMorgan Asset Management Strategist Says

Karen Ward, chief market strategist for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at JPMorgan Asset Management, said a sharp drop in oil prices could provide a strong boost to equities by reviving a market rotation that was abruptly interrupted by the outbreak of the Iran conflict. According to Jin10, Ward said that as a U.S.-Iran agreement gradually takes shape, oil prices could fall to $70 a barrel in the coming weeks. She said potential supply growth was not only coming from Iran. Ward added that weakening cohesion within OPEC, along with Gulf countries potentially seeking to accelerate the monetization of reserves at current price levels, could further increase global supply. Ward said this would create a “huge tailwind” for stock markets and could prompt central banks to cut interest rates. She said the sector and regional rotation seen last year was interrupted on February 27, and argued it was wrong to say markets had ignored the Iran conflict. Ward added that the market narrative had changed completely, but that the impact was now fading, with signs of renewed rotation and broader market participation.