ST. PETERSBURG, June 10. /TASS/. The price of Brent crude oil may decline if OPEC+ countries decide to restore production. The market is currently under pressure from geopolitical factors, Wintershall Dea CEO Mario Mehren said in an interview with TASS on the sidelines of the SPIEF-2019.

"In general I would expect prices to go down if OPEC Plus would increase its production," he said, adding "It is very difficult to say because on the other side of the argue you have all the geopolitical issues and prices that might drive then the oil prices back into opposite direction".

At the same time, Mehren recalled that the market reacted differently to the decisions of the alliance. "Again, it is difficult to predict because we have seen both dynamics. OPEC Plus decided to leave production where it is and the prices went down, OPEC Plus decided to increase production and prices went up," he said.

In general, Mehren agreed that the market is under pressure from geopolitical disputes. "I think that current situation (falling oil prices - TASS) is very much driven by the trade conflict between the US and China which is obviously putting global growth at risk and that typically has an impact on the oil prices. So I think the sooner we have a solution for this trade conflict the sooner we will see normal oil price development again," he told TASS.

The price of Brent crude oil has been falling since the end of April amid sanctions against Iran and aggravated trade relations between the US and China. During this period, it fell by $15 and in early June fell below the $60 mark. The last time the price of Brent oil was below the level of $60 per barrel on January 29, 2019.

The 2019 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF-2019) was held on June 6-8. The forum’s motto this year was "Creating a Sustainable Development Agenda". The organizer for as-2019 iws the Roscongress Foundation. TASS was a media partner, the official photo hosting agency and the operator of SPIEF’s presentation zones with support from multinational firm EY, and the Foreign Investment Advisory Council in Russia.