World prices for oil can fall by summer of 2000 to 17-19 dollar per barrel - Ministry of economics of RF

/IRBIS, Dec.08, 99/ - PRIME-TASS informs, with the reference to the deputy chairman of price department of the Ministry Yurii Ktitarenko, that world prices for oil can fall by summer of 2000 to 17-19 dollars per barrel. World prices for oil began to rise from April of 1999 from 9.2 dollars per barrel. Now it is 26 dollars per barrel, and price rise is expected to stop after the first quarter of 2000 and it may fall afterwards. He said world prices could fall because importers restored their stocks, and also supplies could increase, for example from Iraq. He added Russian government has increased export duties for oil from 7.5 to 15 euros per ton of crude oil for domestic companies in national economy's interest, while IMF has postponed granting the next tranche for 640 mln dollars to Russia. Russian oil companies export about 110-120 mln tons of oil a year, said Ktitarenko.