/By Azernews/

By Gulgiz Dadashova

Stabilizing crude prices after months of painful declines have turned the week's major topic, as Brent crude hit a high of close to $49.50 a barrel on Monday for the first time since November 2015.

Following the 13-year lows -crashing even below $27 in February, a more positive period for oil is being observed despite failure of a deal to curb production among major oil producers.

The crude prices are rising in the world amid the claims from one of the most positive forecasts that the market can face a “deficit”.

Goldman Sachs earlier said that the market is now in a supply shortfall, but it still predicted that oil will get stuck at around $50 this year and next.

Most analysts believe that the current price levels are likely to keep high for the time being and then again fall is coming in the months ahead.

Barclays is even more cautious, referring to weaker refinery margins and demand as presenting a significant risk of prices falling back as soon as the third quarter of 2016.

But some analysts reckon the current rise could be just the start of a price stabilization and even huge price spike that can surprise all.

The price of oil could exceed $55 per barrel by late 2016, LUKOIL president Vagit Alekperov said in an interview to television channel Russia 24 on May 17.

He believes during the year, oil quotes will be at the level of $45-55 per barrel. Most likely, the price of oil will fluctuate in the range of $45-55, and by the end of the year we may be witnessing the price rise, he said.

The reason for rising oil prices, according to Alekperov, may be underinvestment in the sector, which will lead to a decline in production and manufacturing.

"In 2015, the volume of underinvestment hit $300 billion, in the first quarter [2016] – the figure reached another $100 billion. Of course, this affects the volume of production, the volume of oil exploration, especially in difficult areas and technologically complex fields,” Alekperov said.

Earlier, in April, Alekperov noted that oil prices are moving towards stability and will increase. He predicted that by early 2017 the price of a barrel of oil will be $50, while in mid-2017 there will be a supply shortage in the oil market.

Meanwhile, in the US Energy Information Administration, analysts say that the consumption of oil and other liquid hydrocarbons in the world will increase to 95.24 million barrels per day in 2016 and reach 96.78 million barrels per day in 2017.

The world oil supplies are expected to reach 96.23 million barrels per day in 2016 and stand at 96.99 million barrels per day in 2017, according to the EIA.

The International Energy Agency earlier claimed that slight recovery points to oil "bottoming out" and finally ending its run of long-term losses. "It is clear that the current direction of travel is the correct one, although with a long way to go," its oil market report for March reads.

Yet, it remains to be seen whether these developments will be enough to ensure the oil price to stabilize and rise in the foreseeable future.

Oil prices have crashed from highs of more than $100 a barrel in mid-2014 to as low as $27 in January, wiping out more than 70 percent of the commodity value.

The crude prices have started to recover over the past month, this week passing above $40 a barrel for the first time in 2016.