Istanbul: Oil prices are expected to average USD 63 in 2010, after USD 55.5 in 2009, the World Bank said in a report on the Middle East and North Africa released in Istanbul on Saturday.
Those prices are "sufficient to avoid a major crisis in
oil-producing countries, but much lower than the boom of
2008," said the "Economic Development and Prospects" report.
The World Bank said that oil prices in 2009 were unlikely
to be significantly affected by the factors that had
contributed to high prices before mid-2008.
"Global demand is likely to remain low," said the report,
released in the run-up to the World Bank and International
Monetary Fund annual meetings in the Turkish financial
capital.
The IMF did not provide oil price projections for 2010 in
its semi-annual World Economic Outlook report, published
Thursday.
According to its WEO report, global oil demand is
expected to rise to 85.7 million barrels per day in 2010 from
84.4 mbpd in 2009, but still be below the 2008 level of 86.3
mbpd.
Oil prices dropped below USD 70 a barrel yesterday after
the US government reported worse than expected unemployment
data that hammered economic recovery hopes for the world's
largest energy-consuming nation.
Bureau Report
First Published: Saturday, October 03, 2009, 21:36