TEHRAN, Jan. 16 (Shana) -- A senior Iranian oil official says predicting the changes in global crude prices is "quite difficult". This is despite the fact that market indices, including supply and demand, speak of a bearish market in the coming months.

"External factors are manipulating global crude oil markets that have long proved defiant of economic indices," Mohsen Qamsari, head of international affairs of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), told Shana.

"Many expected to witness a rise in prices following the Saudi-led attacks on Yemen, but it never took place, indicating that the market is being controlled [by external factors]," he said.

Debunking official price predictions as unreliable, he said estimations hold that the prices might vary from $20 to $60/b of crude oil.
"The predictions are directional and favor the interests of those who pay for the market analyses," Qamssari said.

Given the excessive supply of crude oil in the market, one cannot expect the prices to grow, he argued.

"I have never believed that the prices were real during the 5 or 6 years that they exceeded $100/b. In fact, the prices were meant to be kept at such high levels for reasons we can discuss for hours."

By SHANA