ST. PETERSBURG, May 26. /TASS/. The oil price will hover in the range of $65-75 by the end of this year, Russia’s Energy Minister Alexander Novak said in an interview aired by RBC business news channel at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

"The oil price was lower at the beginning of the year than today. I think the average oil price will be in the range of $65-75," he said.

The price of the futures contracts of Brent crude oil has added almost 20% year-to-date, exceeding the $80 per barrel mark first since November 2014.

SPIEF-2018 runs on May 24-26. The forum’s events are held under the motto: "Creating the Economy of Trust." TASS news agency is acting as an information partner and the official photo hosting agency of SPIEF. TASS is also the operator of the zone of SPIEF’s presentations with the support of EY consulting company and the Advisory Council on Foreign Investments in Russia.