International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director Nobuo Tanaka said here on Wednesday that international oil prices will remain high in the medium and long-term.
Speaking to the press at the World Energy Congress, Tanaka predicted that 65 U.S. dollars a barrel will be the average level for crude oil prices.
Recently, crude oil has been at a record high and surpassed 98 dollars a barrel, igniting worldwide worry over oil supply and demand.
"In the medium and long run, we forecast very high prices again. I can't say 100 dollars (a barrel), our assumption is 65 dollars (a barrel) at the average," he said.
"The trend will continue, it will not go down to 20 or 30 dollars again," he added.
The IEA chief said current high oil prices may "hurt" the world economy and the member states of the IEA have already expressed their "concerns" over the issue.
He noted that high oil prices have exerted a negative impact on some developing countries that do not produce oil, especially those economic sectors highly relying on energy.
However, Tanaka said high oil prices "would not necessarily" lead to global economic recession.
He said global economic recession is decided by a number of factors like financial market and currency situation.
The IEA chief also hinted that he hopes the oil-producing nations including OPEC states consider increasing output.
Source: Xinhua
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