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The International Energy Agency (IEA) is worried about the dramatic rise in energy prices. Recently, the prices of all major energy resources, such as oil, natural gas and coal, have risen.

“Our lessons are that expensive energy is coming back and this is threatening global economic growth”, said the IEA.

The crude oil prices have risen by more than 25% this year, causing some investors to speculate that it could reach a three-digit figure before the start of 2019.

Meanwhile, the US President Donald Trump has repeatedly accused the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) of rising gasoline prices, which also has an impact on US consumers before the mid-term elections in November.

As a result of rising energy prices, the IEA forecasts a drop in oil demand over the next two years. The agency expects the demand growth to slow down by 110,000 barrels to 1.3 million barrels per day by the end of the year.

On Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced that global debt levels reached a record 182 trillion USD in 2017, rising by 50% over a decade. The fund presented its six-month fiscal report with a new database showing a significant net worth in 31 countries, which account for 61% of global economic output. The assets in these countries are worth about 101 trillion USD, or twice over their GDP, with just over half assets of public companies, and just under half assets in natural resources such as oil or mineral resources.

In addition to data from the IEA and the IMF, the OPEC also cut its forecast for growth in oil demand. The cartel highlighted potential trade decline for the US-China trade war and volatile emerging markets.

The IEA report was published shortly before the US imposed sanctions against Iran. The organization warns that the recent increase in oil production is at the expense of reserve capacity that has already reached its 2% of global demand with the likelihood of remaining reductions.

Earlier this year, the OPEC agreed to increase oil production to stabilize markets and offset losses to key suppliers in Iran and Venezuela.