UAE energy minister expects oil prices to recover this year

United Arab Emirates Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei said Tuesday he expects a recovery in plummeting oil prices before the end of the year.

"I am personally convinced that before the end of 2016 we're going to see a correction. The market fundamentals tell us this," Mazrouei told an energy forum in Abu Dhabi.

US crude tumbled below $31 a barrel on Tuesday, extending a sell-off that has pushed it to more than 12-year lows amid a global supply glut, a strong dollar and tepid demand.

The UAE, a federation of seven sheikhdoms, sits on 5.9 percent of the world's oil reserves and 3.1 percent of its natural gas.

The oil price slump has seen it and other Gulf states embark on belt-tightening measures to cut spending and boost non-crude revenues.

The UAE took the lead by liberalising fuel prices in June and raised electricity charges in Abu Dhabi.