DOHA (Dow Jones)--The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will have to take lower crude oil forecasts by the International Energy Agency seriously when deciding on whether or not to raise crude output, Qatar's Oil Minister said Saturday.
The Paris-based IEA lowered it forecast for the fourth and first quarter, Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah told reporters in Doha.
"Their forecast I have to take seriously," he added.
"To increase you will need someone to buy it. How can one ask me to increase for something no one will buy. I have to respect my customers. They give me the direction," Attiyah said when asked whether OPEC should decide to raise production when it next meets in Abu Dhabi Dec. 5.
Attiyah said OPEC remained concerned about a potential economic recession. "We are concerned. We are always concerned about a recession," he said.
The 13-member OPEC group may this week agree a boost to its crude production levels to ease the pain of an economic slowdown and remove some of the sting of oil prices driven toward $100 a barrel partly as a consequence of the weak dollar.