Tuesday March 17, 04:57 PM
Iran FM calls oil price 'unjust': report
ABU DHABI (AFP) - Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki called the current price of oil both unrealistic and unjust on Tuesday, the official Iranian news agency IRNA reported.
Mottaki, on a visit to the United Arab Emirates, "said the prices are 'unreal and unjust' and the oil-producing countries should take initiatives beyond the traditional norms of OPEC," IRNA said.
Iran, the cartel's second-largest oil producer after kingpin member Saudi Arabia, pumps approximately four million barrels of oil per day.
OPEC's 12 member states have seen their oil revenues slashed as crude prices slumped from record levels of 147 dollars a barrel last July to below 50 dollars in line with a sharp global economic downturn.
Over the weekend, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries decided to hold current production levels.
On Tuesday, New York's main futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in April, jumped 1.24 dollars to 48.59 dollars a barrel.
Brent North Sea crude for May delivery added 90 cents to 47.36 dollars. The April contract expired Monday at 43.98 dollars.
Meeting Mottaki on Tuesday, UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan said "that all regional states should try to serve the interests of their nations and ensure a fair price for oil," IRNA reported.
Mottaki is currently on a tour of Gulf Arab monarchies that has already taken him to Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
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