MOSCOW, May 25. /TASS/. The price of Brent crude oil may slightly exceed $80 per barrel by the end of this year fueled by an increase in demand in the summer and output reduction by OPEC+, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said in an interview with Izvestiya daily.

"I think that the price will be slightly higher than $80 per barrel, and I hope that the demand will still rise in the summer. <…> A reduction of output by many countries is also going to influence," he said.

The current prices of $75-76 are based on the assessment of the global macroeconomic situation by the market, Novak noted. "Currently [oil prices equal - TASS] around $75-76. Why are they lower than the average of this period? Because the market assesses the current situation, mainly macroeconomic on the global market. We see very high central banks’ refinancing rates: I think above 5% in the US, 3.75% in Europe, which is pushing the investment activity and consumption down, meaning risks of lower demand," he explained. Meanwhile the price of Brent roughly amounted to $80 per barrel on average over the past half a year, hovering in the range of $72-87 per barrel.

"One of the factors that we see is that all consider the huge Asian-Pacific market. And when China withdrew from COVID-19 there were projections that its economic recovery would be higher. Though in fact we see a slower recovery, which is also assessed by the market. As soon as China's consumption of energy resources rises the market’s reaction will be different," Russian Deputy PM stressed.