Oil prices to stabilize in first half of 2019, says Russian minister

Crude oil prices would become more stable in the first half of 2019, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing Russian energy minister Alexander Novak.

“I think that during the first half, due to joint efforts, which were confirmed by the OPEC and non-OPEC countries this December, the situation will be more stable, more balanced,” Reuters reported Novak as telling Rossiya-24 TV in an interview.

While attributing the fall in oil prices to macroeconomic factors, the minister however denied there were any proposals for an extraordinary meeting with OPEC.

“Those are the fundamental factors: the decrease of demand in winter and, of course, the macro economy as we’ve been witnessing a decline in global economic activity at the end of the year and a fall on the stock market,” he said.