The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries should maintain
output at its meeting next month because oil prices are satisfactory,
the Kuwaiti oil minister said Wednesday.
Asked if OPEC
needs to increase or cut output, Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah al-Sabah said
the group "should maintain output," adding that he hoped prices would
remain between 70 and 80 dollars a barrel.
"Current oil prices are not bad at all," he told reporters,
adding that he was optimistic that demand will pick up in the near
future.
OPEC is due to meet in Vienna on Sept. 9.
Oil surged back near $70 a barrel in Asian trade Wednesday on
better retail sales in the U.S. and bargain-buying following recent
falls.
Oil prices hit record peaks above $147 in July last year,
but tumbled to $32 in December due to weak energy demand in the wake of
the global financial crisis before bouncing back to current levels.