There had been speculation that the death of Colonel Gaddafi and the resolution of the Libyan conflict would ease the pressure on oil supplies and lead to a drop in prices. Some commentators even suggested this could help kick-start a global economic recovery.
Damaskos, however, believes the continuing turmoil across the rest of the Arab world means supplies will remain stretched.
"We do not believe that oil prices will fall below $100 a barrel (for Brent) in the short-term," he said.
"Stability in the Middle East is unlikely to return soon given the massive shift in power and politics. The so-called ‘Arab Spring’ is still brewing and the countries most affected are far away from achieving a democratic voting system."
"It is very likely that new people coming to power will struggle to control economies built to respond to central command. Furthermore, Saudi Arabia, the largest oil exporter, needs high oil prices to generate the funds required to keep its subjects contented and stop any uprisings against the monarchy."
Tim Cockerill, head of collectives research at Rowan Dartington, agrees with Damaskos. “I don’t see the oil price coming down because of what happened in Libya,” he said.
"You can make the case that the resolution to the civil war may make that country more stable. However, the uprising in Libya was quite clean in that it was started by the people on the ground and supported by the West from the air. The flip side is that it will encourage people in neighbouring countries to try and rise up against their leaders, as is currently happening in Syria, where the situation is a lot more complicated. If this happens, the price of oil may even go up."
Damaskos also believes China’s relentless growth and the aftermath of the tsunami and earthquake in Japan will prevent prices from falling any time soon.
"The Japanese natural disaster earlier this year resulted in the country increasing its consumption and demand for oil and gas to fuel its hitherto nuclear-dependent power generation, and China continues its power-hungry industrialisation. In short, demand for oil is growing in the world even if developed economies slide into recession. Supply, on the other hand, is still tight and Opec has the capacity to cut production to achieve its price objective."
Performance of index over 10-yrs
Source: FE Analytics
The oil price reached $127 a barrel in April this year, which FE Analytics data shows is its highest point for 10 years.