IEA economist Fatih Birol: Oil price warning.
IEA says high oil price could hurt economy
Higher oil prices are a “significant risk” to global economic growth, according to Fatih Birol, chief economist of the International Energy Agency.
Crude oil futures have jumped 81% this year and rose to a one-year high of $82 per barrel on 21 October.
Global economies will expand 3.1% next year after a 1.1% contraction this year, the International Monetary Fund said on 1 October.
“With the strong rebound of the economy, we will see high prices, especially at this juncture, as a significant risk to the recovery efforts,” Birol said in an interview at a Coaltrans conference in London today.
Global oil demand may rise by 700,000 barrels per day next year after falling in this year, United Arab Emirates Oil Minister Mohamed al-Hamli said at conference in Moscow today.
World oil prices are rising on “speculation” and on “signs of recovery” in the global economy, he said in a Bloomberg report.
The Opec may increase production at a December meeting as oil rises above $75 per barrel, a price deemed fair by producers, Jose Maria Botelho de Vasconcelos, the group’s president said late yesterday.
Opec will meet 22 December in Luanda, Angola, to review its production quotas.