Russian official: Oil price below $40 per barrel may stay for long

MOSCOW, Dec 15 (PRIME) -- Oil prices may remain below U.S. $40 per barrel for quite a long time, presidential aide Andrei Belousov told reporters on Tuesday.

“We believe that there is every reason to suppose that it may last for quite a long time,” he said without outlining the period.

A recent plunge of oil prices was caused by an OPEC decision to keep its production quota flat at 30 million barrels daily and to maintain the level of real output, which exceeds the quota by 1.5 million barrels, in spite of low prices and market glut.

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