Oil prices, now fluctuating between $80 and $83 a barrel, will probably surpass $100 within three months, amid rising demand and shrinking supply, says oil expert Jeff Rubin.

“With oil prices now already above $80 per barrel and likely to hit triple-digit levels within months, you can expect to hear a lot more about the role of speculators in the marketplace,” he writes on his blog.

“It’s always easier to find a convenient whipping boy than to recognize that depletion and the prospect of ever more costly fuel in the future are the real problems.”

With the economy rebounding, albeit slowly, oil prices have room to rise, Rubin says.

“The first thing you identify in an economic recovery, even the most anemic one, is that the economy starts burning more oil,” he writes.

“The next thing is that oil prices start rising rapidly. Already they’re at more than double the levels of the last recession’s lows, and that’s with most major oil-consuming economies, including the world’s largest oil guzzler — the United States — still operating well below their pre-recession levels.”

Not everyone is bullish on oil. "With close to a $1 trillion in (Federal Reserve) asset purchases likely 'priced in', the risk is for a firmer dollar and softening oil prices," Daniel Hwang, senior market strategist at Gain Capital Forex.com, told Reuters.