Oil’s ‘artificial’ surge to multi-year highs could spark a new crisis, economist warns

David McNew | Getty Images

Oil rigs at sunrise in Taft, California.

A sudden upswing in crude futures could be enough to fast-track the energy market’s next crisis, one economist told CNBC on Thursday.

Oil prices soared to levels not seen since late 2014 on Thursday, following reports OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia would be content to see crude prices rally as high as $100 a barrel over the coming months.

“Oil prices are high because the dollar is low,” Daniel Lacalle, chief economist at Tressis Gestion, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” Thursday.

He went on to warn that “massive supply management” in the energy market was always likely to trigger an “artificial” upswing in oil prices. “That is a big concern … Because oil prices don’t generate crises; the abrupt and unexpected rise of oil prices creates crises,” Lacalle said.

OPEC, Russia and several other allied producers have led an ongoing effort to try to clear a global supply overhang and prop up prices. The agreement, which came into effect in January 2017, has already been extended through until the end of this year — with producers scheduled to meet in June to review policy.