The United Arab Emirates, the fourth-largest oil producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, will be ready to pump more crude if demand increases, an official said Thursday.
"The U.A.E. is ready to supply the market with more oil if needed," Ali Obaid Al Yabhouni, the emirates' OPEC governor told reporters in Abu Dhabi. "But our markets are satisfied and they have not asked for more."
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in July traded at $130.37 a barrel at 0645 GMT, losing 66 cents in the Globex electronic session.
OPEC nations are coming under relentless pressure from consumers in Europe and the U.S. where there is rising concern that high fuel costs may lead to a steep economic downturn.
Al Yabhouni added "these current prices are moving too fast, too high."