Oil prices to be slowed down but remain rather high, experts believe

Oil prices will slow down by the end of the year but will remain rather high, experts told RIA Novosti.

Yesterday, after a trading session at the New York exchange rate, the price of oil reached the record-high level of $41.08 per barrel.

"I hope that oil prices will be lower than $30 per barrel but this level is also high enough, said head of the analytical division of Brokerkreditservis Maxim Shein.

According to him, a number of factors will influence the reduction of prices, the main of which will be the strengthening of the dollar exchange rate against the background of expected increase of the interest rate in the USA.

"The high oil prices are not advantageous for any country - to a lesser degree for oil exporting countries and to a greater degree for America whose expenditures on the purchase of oil and oil products are growing," Mr. Shein believes.

The leading expert of Megatrastoil, Alexander Razuvayev also believes that the oil price will remain at a high level till the end of the year.

"At present a number of factors, which ensure high oil prices, such as an aggressive OPEC policy and unstable military-political situation in the Middle East, still remain," Mr. Razuvayev continued.

In his words, the price of Brent oil will not slow down lower than $30 per barrel which will allow Russia to develop well and will not negatively influence the world economics.

"The price will be maintained at $35 per barrel," a Megatrastoil expert believes.

Sergei Suverov, a Zenit bank expert, agrees with the opinion of his colleagues as far as the preservation of high oil prices is concerned.

"I think that the oil price will plummet to reach $32-$35 per barrel, which is a rather high level," Mr. Suverov said.

He also pointed out that a lot will depend on the situation in Iraq, and above all, on the OPEC policy, which is not interested in the radical reduction of oil prices, but under the US pressure can take steps, which will lead to lower prices.