http://www.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=168310
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.