Dubai crude forecast to hover near US$60 per barrel in 2009

SEOUL, Dec. 8 (Yonhap) -- The price of Dubai brand crude is expected to hover at an average US$60 per barrel next year as sluggish economic growth affects demand, a panel of local experts said Monday.

The panel of experts from the government, the Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC),
the Korea Energy Economic Institute, the Korea Institute for International
Economic Policy, the Bank of Korea and civilian economic think tanks predicted
that uncertainties in the global economy will effectively cap prices.
Dubai crude prices reached an average of $97.99 per barrel this year from $68.43
for the whole of 2007. As of Thursday, prices slipped to $49.92 per barrel in a
drop of 70 percent from its peak this year of $140.70 on July 4.
Oil from the Middle East is important because South Korea imports the bulk of its
crude from the region.
Experts also said that in the first quarter of 2009, oil prices could fall to an
average of $50 per barrel as leading economies struggle to cope with the
financial crunch, slowdowns in consumption and a drop in business investment.
However, they said that from the second half, prices may go up as the global
economy starts to shake off its lethargy and speculative funds begin reentering
the crude oil market.