NEW YORK, March 25. /TASS/. Oil prices may stabilize at $85-90 per barrel by the end of the year if the Middle East conflict ends soon, director of the US investment company Navigator Principal Investors Kyle Shostak said in an interview with TASS.
"In my view, the ‘peace scenario’ in reality will be quite difficult and will be accompanied by periodic acts of sabotage and direct attacks by various proxy actors pursuing their own objectives. In the initial stage, which will last 6-8 weeks, we will see no more than 10% of normal supply volumes. The price per barrel will fluctuate in the $100-110 range. As infrastructure is restored and lost supply volumes return to the market over a period of three to six months, or possibly longer, the price will stabilize at $85-90 per barrel by the end of this year," he said.
According to Shostak, overall, the administration of US President Donald Trump has so far been "fairly successful in avoiding the worst-case scenario of a surge in global prices largely through verbal maneuvering and last-minute announcements of unilateral measures."
The United States and Israel launched a military operation against Iran on February 28. Major Iranian cities, including Tehran, were struck. The White House justified the attack by citing alleged missile and nuclear threats from Iran. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced a retaliatory operation, targeting sites in Israel. US military bases in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE were also hit. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and some other key Iranian leaders were killed in the joint US-Israeli attack.