PARIS, March 8 (Reuters) - Total's chief executive said on Monday it could take two years for the world economy to recover from the coronavirus pandemic and that oil prices were unlikely to remain at the current high of $70 a barrel.

"I am not betting on prices staying at $70 a barrel, for me the right price is around $50-$60 a barrel," Patrick Pouyanne told BFM business radio.

Brent crude futures surged above $70 a barrel on Monday for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began, while U.S. crude touched its highest in more than two years, following reports of attacks on Saudi Arabian facilities.

(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon, Sudip Kar-Gupta, editing by Louise Heavens)