OPEC Chief, Abdullah Al-Badri, Says Oil Prices Will Go Higher

OPEC chief: oil prices would go higher

www.chinaview.cn 2008-04-21 09:23:40

BEIJING, April 21 --

OPEC Secretary-General Abdullah Al-Badri said Sunday oil prices would likely go higher and that the group was ready to raise production if the price pressure was due to a shortage of supply -- something he doubted.

"Oil prices, there is a common understanding that has nothing to do with supply and demand," al-Badri said on the sidelines of an energy conference in Rome.

Oil prices reached a new high Friday at 117 U.S. dollars a barrel.

A host of supply and demand concerns in the U.S. and abroad, along with the dollar's weakness, have served to support prices, even as record retail gasoline prices in the U.S. appear to be dampening demand. Crude prices have risen as much as 4 percent last week.

The OPEC chief said the Organization for Petroleum Exporting Countries "will not hesitate" to increase production if the group thought the higher prices were due to shortages. But he said more oil will not solve the high prices.

OPEC's production levels were just one of many factors, he said.

"But how much higher it will go, of course it depends on a number of things: the political situation, whether there is a natural catastrophe, whether there are speculations in the market, whether there are strikes in certain producing countries. So there are many other factors other than OPEC production," al-Badri said.

(Source: China Daily)

OPEC weekly prices surpass $106 per barrel

www.chinaview.cn 2008-04-21 18:25:28

VIENNA, April 21 (Xinhua) --

The weekly average oil price of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) set a new peak record of 106.36 U.S. dollars per barrel (dpb) last week, the Vienna-based cartel said Monday.

During last week, the daily prices kept rising along and reached a peak record of 107.75 dpb Friday. So far have the daily prices five times recorded in five consecutive trading days and surged nearly 4 percent higher.

The prices were 104.02 dpb on Monday, 105.73 dpb on Tuesday, 106.65 dpb on Wednesday and surpassed 107 dollars on Thursday. It went 0.12 dollars higher on Friday and led to a weekly jump of 3.73 dollars.

Abdullah el al-Badri, the general secretary of OPEC, said Sunday that the current prices could not reflect the fundamental situation.

The OPEC chief said the organization "will not hesitate" to increase production if the group thought the higher prices were due to shortages. But he said more oil will not solve the high prices.

The president of OPEC, Chakib Khelil, said Sunday too, that the weak dollar was still the main booster, "If dollars drop 1 percent, the oil prices would surge about 4 percent higher," he worried.

He also insisted that the market was well-supplied and there is no need for an immediate increase of oil output. Other factors as geopolitical crisis, natural disasters, speculations and the warming weather should also be considered.

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