International crude oil prices are expected to average US$100-$105 per barrel in the second half of this year, a joint panel of government and private sector experts predicted Wednesday.

   The panel said a rise in demand from emerging economies could keep prices relatively high in the coming months, despite lingering uncertainties in some European countries and the slowing down of growth in advanced industrialized economies.

   The panel, however, said that as long as social unrest that hit some North African and Middle East countries does not spread to major oil producers like Saudi Arabia, prices should not rise sharply in the coming months.

   The panel, meanwhile, said the average price of Dubai crude, which accounts for the bulk of South Korea's oil imports, may have reached an average of $106 per barrel in the first six month of 2011. This represents a 36 percent gain from the year before.

   Such gains, the panel said, were caused by the steady pace of global economic recovery this year, which fueled demand for oil.

Source: Yonhap News (June 15, 2011)