Abdul-Mahdi said in an interview with Al-Sabah newspaper published on Monday, "There is a great hope for the return of oil prices in the first half of next year or at the end to what it," without specifying the price level.

He added in his remarks to the daily newspaper based in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad "China's growth back to normal rates, as well as growth in Asia and Europe and rising rates in America can contribute to increasing energy demand and rising prices."

Oil prices fell after the failure of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries members (OPEC) on the fourth of December in putting a level for production of the organization which is approaching the size of its production already record levels since last year in an attempt to take out high cost producers such as shale oil producers in the United States market.

Brent crude ended trading in futures contracts maturity of a month below $ 37 a barrel on Friday as record on Monday, its lowest level since 2004 at $ 36.17 per barrel.