OPEC president: Oil could soon hit $170

Crude oil prices will likely rise to between $150 and $170 a barrel this summer, OPEC President Chakib Khelil was quoted as telling a French television station.

Khelil, in an interview with France 24, said much would depend on the European Central Bank’s policy on the euro, as well as whether the West puts more pressure on major oil producer Iran over its contested nuclear program.


“I foresee prices probably between $150 and $170 this summer,” Khelil was quoted as saying in an interview transcript made available Thursday. “That will probably decline a bit toward the end of the year.”

Oil futures rose sharply almost immediately after Khelil’s comment, along with emerging reports that Libya may cut oil production.

AP