Prices for natural gas will rise by the end of the year due to increasing industrial demand among other factors, US Energy Information Administration (EIA) administrator Adam Sieminski told Sputnik.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik)�� Global oil prices plunged from $115 to�less than $30 per barrel between�June 2014 and January 2016, hitting their lowest levels since�2003 amid�an ongoing glut in�global oil supply. The prices have since�recovered to�around $40-45 per barrel for�the Brent crude benchmark.

"We�ll see gas moving up�toward the end of�the year," Sieminski stated on�Wednesday. "It�s the winter time and you always get higher natural gas prices in�the winter time, but�we see natural gas prices moving back up�overtime because there is more industrial demand, there is more demand for�fertilizers and other products that are made from�natural gas."

Sieminski also said that there will be liquefied natural gas (LNG) demand as�LNG facilities come on�line and the United States is selling more and more gas to�Mexico.

"So, we think that supply and demand for�gas is rebalancing and we�ll see somewhat higher prices, still below�where they were five or ten years ago, but�rising from�here," Sieminski added.

According to�the administartor, oil prices will reach some $50 by�the end of�2016.

"We have oil going into�next year at�roughly $50 a barrel, it�s $45 and something today," Sieminski stated on�Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the EIA noted in�its Short-Term Energy Outlook report that the average price for�Brent Crude oil in�2016 will amount to $40.52 per barrel, while the expected average price for�West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil is $40.32 per barrel.

Oil prices have plunged more than�60 percent from�their peak of�over $110 a barrel in�June 2014 because of�global oil production outpacing global demand.

In April, the Organization of�the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and major non-OPEC oil producers failed to�agree on�freezing oil output at�the January levels to�shore up�prices after�Saudi Arabia backed

By Sputnik News