Low oil prices temporary, officials say

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Aug. 14 (UPI) -- The decline in the world price of crude oil is a short-term correction based on the increase in the value of the U.S. dollar, Pakistani officials said Thursday.

Officials said the price of crude oil on the world market will end with a year average of around $125. Brent crude had traded at around $114 in morning trading Thursday.

Wasi Khan, the president of the Pakistani energy firm Bosicor, said the price of crude was not a reflection of market conditions, but currency values, Pakistani newspaper The News said.

"(It is) only that the dollar has regained strength against the euro. It is a correction, and in my opinion, the price has dropped only to go up again," he said.

Abid Syed Ibrahim of Shell Pakistan said exploration of oil reserves has shifted, making the market climate conducive to a bull market for oil.

"Hydrocarbons are getting out of reach as potential reserves shift deep inside oceans. There are strong government regulations on exploration, and demand has increased," he said.

Pakistan spent over $11 billion on crude imports in the 2007-08 fiscal year.