NEW YORK (Thomson Financial) - Oil prices will drop "significantly" from the
current record level to below $100-a-barrel by the end of the year, a new survey
of oil and gas executives showed.
The survey results came as crude futures prices surged to a record above
$126 a barrel Friday, fueled by weakness in the U.S. dollar, worries over supply
disruptions and speculative demand.
About 55% of the 372 financial executives from oil and gas companies
surveyed by KPMG's Global Energy Institute think that crude oil price will drop
below $100 by the end of the year, while only 9% believe it will close at above
$120.
Some 21% of the executives think oil will close the year between $101 and
$110, while 15% think it may end between $111 and $120.
What's more, the survey found that while 44% of the respondents felt prices
would peak by the end of the year, a further 39% thought that they would not
peak until after 2010.
Crude for June delivery touched a high of $126.20, before pulling back to
last trade up $1.12, or 0.9%, at $124.82 a barrel on the New York Mercantile
Exchange.
Oil prices have doubled over the past year. About 63% of oil and gas
executives believe that growing demand from emerging markets is the major
contributor to the high price of oil.
Wanfeng Zhou
wz/pc
COPYRIGHT
Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.
The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content,
including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior
written consent of Thomson Financial News.
|