MUSCAT, SEPT 30 - Global crude prices are expected to ease back to normal levels following last week’s dramatic jump, according to Salim bin Nasser al Aufi (pictured), Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Oil and Gas. The Oman crude futures contract soared to a dizzying $88.96 per barrel on the Dubai Mercantile Exchange for the first time since the 2014 oil price plunge, after gaining a record $6.42 per barrel in value overnight. Following the spike, Oman crude was billed the ‘world’s costliest oil benchmark’ — a sharp increase that “confounded traders”, according to Bloomberg News. Commenting on the hefty increase in Omani crude prices, Al Aufi said: “It’s a spike. We cannot create a trend out of it. It was explained in terms of rationale. But the prices came down thereafter. I think the market is adjusting. Perhaps at the beginning of (October) we will see the prices coming back to normal levels. Of course, we don’t mind the increase, but it’s not good to have a spike that is not properly explained.”
Conrad Prabhu
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