United Arab Emirates economy minister Sultan bin Saeed al-Mansouri said Monday that oil prices are expected to start recovering by the second quarter of this year as major economies improve, Reuters reports.
“My expectation is that by the middle of this year we should see some turn in oil prices and an expected positive turn in the economies of Europe, the U.S. and China,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a conference.
Asked if he stood by UAE officials’ previous forecasts of 4.5% gross domestic product growth for 2014, Mansouri said: “We review on a quarterly basis and by March we have to review that on the basis of oil prices…
“Also we have to see what’s happening in the non-oil sector. If we have growth that matches the drop in oil prices, we can say yes, it will stay at 4.5 per cent. If not, we have to review that.”
Recent report predicted on Monday that the GCC countries could see average economic growth of 4.2% in 2014 and 4.1% in 2015 on the back of robust non-hydrocarbon activities and large budget surpluses.
A number of other Gulf officials have shown cautious optimism about prices going up by June this year- a feeling that has much resonated across the region’s key industry executives.
Brent crude, which the benchmark the Middle East markets follow, closed at $48.79 a barrel on Friday, while U.S. crude settled down 72 cents at $45.59 reaching its lowest level since April 2009.
