International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol speaking earlier today 1 May
- oil prices may have bottomed out, providing that the health of the global economy does not pose a concern.
Speaking at the G7 meeting in Kitakyushu, southwestern Japan he said when asked by Reuters if oil prices had bottomed out, he said:
"It may well be the case, but it will depend on how the global economy looks like. In a normal economic environment, we will see the price direction is rather upwards than downwards."
"We believe under normal conditions towards the end of this year, second half of this year but latest 2017, markets will rebalance."
Birol said he hopes to see a rebound in upstream oil investments next year, following a 40% curb in investments over two years. Non-OPEC output is set to fall by more than 700,000 barrels per day this year, the biggest decline in around 20 years, he said.
"What we would like to see is, after a big decline in 2015 and 2016, there will be a rebound in investments (in 2017), and bringing (investments) to the level of $600 billion once again,"
More from Reuters here
Oil prices hit 2016 highs on Friday but global economic recovery remains a big "if".
