Global Oil Prices to Stabilize at $73 per Bbl in 2019 – IMF

Global oil prices are expected to reach $73 per barrel in the year 2019, according to forecast of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Global oil prices are expected to reach $73 per barrel in the year 2019, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in a report released Tuesday.

"Prices are expected to remain well below the October 2014 WEO baseline into the medium term (for instance, projected prices for 2019 declined from $93 to $73 a barrel)," the IMF's World Economic Outlook said.

According to the IMF, oil futures prices are indicative of a partial recovery in oil prices in the coming years, but the level of uncertainty about the future trajectory of oil prices has increased.

Earlier on Tuesday, the World Trade Organization (WTO) projected that the price of oil would be $60 per barrel in 2015 and $70 per barrel in 2016.

Global oil prices have dropped by some 50 percent since summer 2014, damaging economies heavily reliant on energy exports, Russia being one of them.

In November 2014, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) decided not to reduce oil output levels, which prompted an even greater slump in prices.

The current price of West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil stands at around $52, while Brent Crude Oil is about $58.