OPEC Top Official: Energy Security Should Be Viewed not Only by Russia

OPEC Secretary General Mohammed Barkindo lashed out at the oil consumers yesterday.

He said that the energy security should be viewed on both sides, the security of deliveries and security of demand.

At present, the soaring demand is one of the key factors that make crude prices so skyrocketing. But the supply may exceed the demand already in 2010, Barkindo specified. And everything will be a bit different then.

Russia?s economy will easily endure the drop in crude prices up to $30 and even to $25, said Sergey Ignatyev, chairman of Central Bank of Russia (CBR). But other analysts are not so optimistic. They forecast that in addition to budget deficit, Russia?s payment balance will worsen materially and the losses of gold/foreign exchange reserves will be hefty. The rates or economy growth will decline up to complete stagnation.