Business | Oil & Gas
IMF expects oil prices to hold steady
Global oil prices are likely to remain near current levels over the next couple of years barring unexpected shocks, International Monetary Fund head Rodrigo Rato said yesterday.
- Reuters
- Published: 00:00 November 5, 2006
Jeddah: Global oil prices are likely to remain near current levels over the next couple of years barring unexpected shocks, International Monetary Fund head Rodrigo Rato said yesterday.
"Our view - and market futures tend to agree - is that oil prices will stay at their current level for the next two years unless something unforeseen happens," Rato said in Jeddah where he was attending a regional meeting of Gulf finance ministers.
Rato said investments by Gulf countries in oil production capacity would help keep prices stable.
"They have been very instrumental in supplying the world economy," he said. "We see the prospects of higher investment in oil production and refining in the region as very positive for the region and for the world economy."
Rato had said last month that the possibility of a major oil supply disruption was one of the biggest risks to the global economy.
But on Friday he said current demand and supply trends meant prices were likely to be steady.
US light crude settled $1.26 higher at $59.14 a barrel on Friday, after falling 83 cents on Thursday. London Brent crude gained $1.28 to $59.15 a barrel.
Oil is down about $20 from its mid-July peak of $78.4 and is hovering near the bottom of a range of $57-$62 that has held since early October.
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