Barclays Capital’s oil analysts have shot a rare broadside at Goldman Sachs’s oil research team, suggesting that the Wall Street bank’s call for a top of the oil and commodities market was not only “too early” but also “simplistic”.

Although Barclays did not mention Goldman by name, the references were clearly aimed at its rival.

Goldman and Barclays have in the past differed on their bearish and bullish views of the oil market, but the confrontation reached a fresh peak this week.

For the moment, there is not a clear winner, with oil prices holding their ground. On Friday, Brent oil closed at $123.45 a barrel, down 2.4 per cent on the week, but flat from Monday, when Goldman Sachs published its top of the market note.

Goldman Sachs earlier in the week triggered a sell-off in commodities markets when it told clients to take profits and sell raw materials such as oil, copper and soyabeans. On Friday, Jeffrey Currie, Goldman’s head of commodities research, reiterated the bank’s call to sell the raw materials sector, saying: “Mounting downside risks to current exceptionally high crude oil prices are leading us to recommend an underweight allocation to commodities.”

Mr Currie is bullish over the long term, however.

While Goldman told clients to sell, Barclays told them to stick to oil. Without mentioning Goldman by name, Barclays’ team said that calling the top of the oil market was an opportunistic way to “guarantee a few short-term headlines, and some more headlines later when that view was reversed”.

“The highs for oil prices this year are not yet in,” Paul Horsnell, Barclays’ veteran oil watcher told investors on Friday, in a clear response to Mr Currie’s view.

“If analysis were to be judged solely in terms of the weight of headlines generated and their impact on the petroleum paparazzi, then following a route of frequent turns in a basic view might well be the best way to proceed,” he said.

“In our view, the underlying market balances are so far out of kilter that analysis that attempts to ground itself in reference to actual data does not have enough to call for a top.”

Although both Barclays and Goldman are influential in the oil market, the Wall Street bank has a bigger short-term impact on investors’ views and prices.

Barclays carries weight with its long-term views, particularly its five-year forward oil price forecast. Mr Horsnell said oil prices would reach $185 a barrel by 2020.

Goldman and Barclays declined to comment.

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