Monday April 13, 07:00 PM
Kuwait says current oil price satisfactory
KUWAIT CITY (AFP) - Kuwait's Oil Minister Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah al-Sabah said Monday that the current oil price is satisfactory and that it was premature to say if OPEC needed to cut output at its next meeting.
"We are satisfied with the current oil price," Sheikh Ahmad was quoted as saying by the official KUNA news agency.
The minister also said that it was premature to say if the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries should make a fresh cut in its production at its next meeting in May.
A number of factors should be considered by OPEC before making a decision on output, including production by non-OPEC producers, Sheikh Ahmad said.
In Doha, Qatari Energy Minister Abdullah al-Attiya said that a price for oil between 40 and 50 dollars a barrel is realistic amid the global economic downturn.
"We are talking about a reality and we have to be realistic ... Realistic price should range between 40 and 50 dollars and it is suitable to the global economy at this point in light of the global economic crisis and low demand for oil," said Attiya, cited by the official Qatar News Agency.
Iran's representative in OPEC Mohammad Ali Khatibi said on Monday that OPEC may cut oil production if global demand for crude continues to fall in the near future.
"If demand continues to fall until the next meeting of OPEC, a further output cut is possible," Khatibi was quoted as saying by Iranian daily Hamshahri.
The next meeting of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is on May 28.
OPEC has reduced its oil production target by an overall 4.2 million barrels per day since September to 24.84 million bpd, the lowest level since just after the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
On Monday, oil prices eased with New York's main futures contract, light sweet crude for May delivery, shedding 99 cents to 51.25 dollars a barrel in the afternoon Asian trade.
Brent North Sea crude for delivery in May fell 57 cents to 53.49 dollars.
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