Oil rates will reach $100 per barrel by the end of this year, US analysts claim

Dubai: – For the first time since 2014, the Crude oil rates in the international market could scale three figures. Christyan Malek, an analyst at the renowned US financial institution, JPMorgan Chase, claimed that the crude oil rates would cross the $100 per barrel mark by the turn of the year. Five days ago, another US financial institution had made a similar claim. Whereas, it is being revealed that the speculators have already started purchasing crude oil at these rates on the New York and other trading hubs.

The crude oil rates had touched the record high of $172 per barrel in the year 2008. But these rates were successfully maintained between $50 to $87 per barrel during January and August 2009. But in the next few months, the crude oil rates again crossed $100 per barrel. The crude oil rates were ruling around $100 per barrel from April 2010 to August 2014.

But as OPEC, the organisation of oil-producing countries led by Saudi Arabia, maintained high oil stocks, the rates remained substantially low for the next six years. Moreover, the other oil-producing countries took care not to allow the crude oil rates to skyrocket, owing to a shortage in the oil market, after the former US President imposed sanctions against Iran. Whereas, in the last year, the crude oil rates were under control given the regulatory issues in the US industry, control of the OPEC countries on the crude oil supplies and the low demand due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

But Malek said that the crude oil rates would cross the $100 per barrel mark by the turn of this year. Malek claimed while talking to a Mideast newspaper, ‘If the demand for crude oil increases in the second half and the Coronavirus pandemic is averted, the crude oil rates will cross $100 per barrel.’ Malek said it is necessary that the economies of the United States, China, and the European countries restore normalcy and the oil demand rises to 100 million barrels per day. Since the last few days, there are talks about the rise in crude oil prices in the international market. A few days ago, Bank of America also had predicted that the crude oil rates would scale the three-figure mark. Whereas international investors also are indicating that the crude oil rates will reach $ 100 per barrel. It is said that the speculators have already started purchasing crude oil at these rates on New York and other trading hubs.

Meanwhile, since the last three days, crude oil rates in the international market are around $70 per barrel. If they rise by another 30 dollars to reach the level of $100 per barrel, it will be a major setback to the economies of the countries struggling to come out of the Coronavirus crisis. This will have adverse effects on the oil-importing countries.