MOSCOW, December 19 (Sputnik) — Oil prices are on the rise as Saudi Arabia's Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali Naimi has predicted growth in the global oil demand.
“The global economy, particularly the economies of emerging countries, will resume growth steadily, and then demand for oil will also grow,” Naimi told the Saudi Press Agency Thursday.
At 9:10 Moscow time (06:10 GMT), the price of WTI light sweet crude oil January futures had increased by 0.98 percent to $54.64 per barrel, while Brent crude futures for February were trading at $59.55 per barrel, rising 0.47 percent.
Oil prices have been declining since the summer amid oversupply in the market. Prices plummeted further after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), whose 12 member states account for some 40 percent of world oil output, decided not cut production in late November.
