Kuwait's acting oil minister said Monday that oil prices are being driven not by supply and demand, but by the value of the U.S. dollar.
"The market is affected by the situation relating to exchange rates. It's not really fundamentals. Fundamentals up till now haven't changed," Mohammed Al Olaim told Dow Jones Newswires.
He said that the OPEC is watching the oil market closely. "We are still evaluating the issue," he said when asked if OPEC was planning to cut production or build up inventories.
OPEC members are likely to meet informally later this month in Rome to assess the oil situation.