An economic analyst in Taiwan said on Thursday that the cost of a barrel of crude oil could reach US$100 in the fourth quarter of this year. National Central University Professor Liang Chi-yuan (梁啟源) says strong demand and faltering supply resulted in the highest crude oil prices in a year as markets closed on Wednesday. The price of U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures reached US$95.03 per barrel during trading hours in Asia, while the Brent benchmark reached US$97.56 a barrel.
Liang says supplier countries from the oil cartel OPEC, like Saudi Arabia, have decreased their oil production for more than a month. However, as winter approaches demand will likely increase. He says with oil prices already so high, oil-producing countries will likely step up production to bring up supply. Liang says oil prices may begin to decrease starting next year. However, he adds that there are many factors that could influence the price of oil, and there is a chance that prices could reach US$100 next year as well.