Oil prices might decline further in mid-term

With the United States successfully exploring more oil in its own territory, the trend for the oil price shows downwards albeit the threat of external shocks remains present, said New York-based economist Nouriel Roubini on Monday. During the two-day Terrapinn's Middle East Hedge Funds summit, Roubini told Xinhua whilst the prospects for excess supplies on the oil market are low in short term, chances increase that the world's largest economy's increased oil exploration, along with the rising discoveries of shale gas, will put pressure on oil prices in mid-term. The Paris-based International Energy Agency said in last November the United States would overtake Saudi Arabia as the world's biggest oil producer by 2017 and would become a net oil exporter by 2030. Oil prices (Oman crude) at the Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME) fell below a three-month low point Monday, ending down 0.85 percent at 104.71 U.S. dollars per barrel. Roubini said that "The forces of supply and demand are very dynamic, but that the United States will become independent from the Middle East's energy supply is a fact and will increase global supply levels." Another driver for more volumes of the black gold were oil discoveries in the Eastern Mediterranean close to Cyprus, Lebanon and Israel. Despite these prospects for lower oil prices, the dangers of geopolitical shocks on energy markets were still present. "If Israel attacks Iran, which I do not believe in the current stage, then oil prices might surge jump to 200 dollars per barrel, at least for short period of time," said Roubini.