Oil Prices to Recover After Hitting Low: US State Department Official

The Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs at the US Department of State has said that oil prices might continue to drop, but they will definitely bounce back in the future.

WASHINGTON, January 9 (Sputnik) — Oil prices might continue dropping, but they will definitely bounce back in the future, Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs at the US Department of State, Amos Hochstein, has said.

"This has happened before and it will happen again. I promise you that I don't know what the floor of this price decline is, and I don't know if we have reached it, but if it is, or when we get there, it will rise again," Hochstein said Thursday during a talk at the Atlantic Council.

Hochstein explained that price drops happen periodically and countries should make sure that "oil revenues in good days are there and are kept and not spent". He reminded that oil prices stood at $11 just 15 years ago, but in June 2014 they hit $115.

Since June 2014, oil prices have fallen by more than 40 percent and now stand at about $50 a barrel.

During a meeting in November, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) decided not to change the levels of oil output, triggering a further drop in global oil prices.