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Oil price factor: Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said the government could recalibrate Budget 2019 if the average Brent crude price falls below US50 per barrel. PETALING JAYA: Crude oil prices have gone on a freefall, down by over 37% in less than three months. However, analysts foresee the bearish trend to be temporary, with higher oil prices in the offing next year. The positive outlook comes as good news for the federal government’s coffers as well as the Malaysian oil and gas (O&G) sector, which had witnessed a disappointing earnings performance in the third quarter of 2018. Looking into 2019, pundits believe the O&G sector stands to benefit from the projected recovery in crude oil prices and the expected increase in both upstream and downstream activities. CIMB Research chose the O&G sector as one of its four top picks in 2019. Maybank IB Research and PublicInvest Research have maintained their “positive” and “overweight” views on the sector, respectively. By mid-day yesterday, the international benchmark Brent crude price has fallen by 37% since its year-to-date peak in early October and hit US$54.33 per barrel. The current price level is Brent’s lowest in 14 months. The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) […]
