Novak: 'black swans’ increasingly affect oil market

The situation on the oil market is almost stable, though the pressure of geopolitical factors is becoming increasingly strong, which makes forecasting more difficult, Russia’s Energy Minister Alexander Novak told a session of the Russian Energy Week.

"Despite the fact that we witness a certain stable price movement around $60 (per barrel), we still witness no stability on the market. We feel that ‘black swans’ are floating around," he said.

"As of today ‘black swans’ are playing a fundamental role, and we should think how to offset the influence of those factors," TASS cited the minister as saying.

According to him, the impact trade wars between countries have on oil consumption has risen over the past two years. Novak said that decrease in consumption surely offers little room for optimism about the current state and forecasts.