Crude oil prices slip, will stabilise soon say experts

THE HEAT IS OFF: Blame it on oil when it comes to inflation and shortages.

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New Delhi The good news is that crude is off the boil. In fact for the past eight weeks, international oil prices have made a sharp U-turn from well above $ 150 a barrel, to edging closer to the $ 100 mark. With prices at a 3 month low, the question is how much more can the prices of crude oil fall?

South Asia Bureau Chief, Upstream, Narendra Taneja, says, "As things progress in US for presidential elections in US, you would see oil prices going down further. By October you will see prices going down and definitely below $ 100 a barrel.”

In the last two months crude has journeyed on many troughs and troves. It reached $ 140 per barrel mark in early July and rose to a peak of $147 on July 11.

It again spiralled down to $113 on August 13th...and remains so till date.

What the consumer seeks to know is whether these prices are sustainable in the long run.

Rohit Nagraj, Analyst, Angel Broking said, "The fall in crude oil prices is a temporary phenomenon, prices will surge up to higher levels in the next few months."

Post November, once the elections are over in the US, oil is likely to rise again due to a lack of fresh supply.

Narendra Taneja blames it on the oil facilities. The oil companies the world over have failed to create new production facilities and their slip is showing, feels Taneja.

So the not so good news is that in the long run, oil is likely to stay above $100.

That’s bad news for countries like India which import as much as 73 per cent of their oil demand. India will have to rethink its oil procurement strategy and focus on alternative sources before the nation must face the next oil shock.