"I think that volatility risks still persist…. [The stabilization] has been a result of market settling down after seeing prospects of a coordination effort by oil producing countries," Novak said in an interview with the Rossiya 24 channel, adding that the outlook for oil prices now depends on the results of the final deal between oil producers on freezing output.
Global oil prices plunged from $115 to less than $30 per barrel between June 2014 and January 2016, hitting their lowest levels since 2003 amid an ongoing glut in global oil supply. The prices began to rebound in mid-February, with the Brent crude benchmark hitting the $40 per barrel mark in early March.
In February, the energy ministers of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Venezuela, and Russia agreed to stem the fall in oil prices by freezing oil production at January levels if other countries followed suit. The deal is expected to be finalized on April 17. A number of Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC oil producers have confirmed attendance.
