The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries could change its output ceiling if oil prices rise to $100 a barrel due to market fundamentals, the group's secretary general said Thursday.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries could change its
output ceiling if oil prices rise to $100 a barrel due to market fundamentals,
the group's secretary general said Thursday.
Speaking to reporters ahead of the OPEC meeting in
Quito
,
Abdalla Salem el-Badri said that "when prices go at $100, that means there
is something wrong. You have to do something."
Oil prices broke the psychological threshold of $90 a barrel Tuesday in
New
York
, over a severely cold winter in the Northern
Hemisphere and somewhat better-than-expected economic recovery, though they
have since slightly eased. On Thursday, crude futures for January delivery in
the New York Mercantile Exchange were trading at $88.33, up 6 cents.
While some of OPEC's most powerful member have said they're comfortable with
the current price level, members such as
Libya
,
Venezuela
and
Algeria
have
said would they like oil to reach $100 a barrel, saying they don't fully
benefit from the price because the dollar is weak compared to other currencies.
OPEC reports the gap between real prices -- excluding currency and inflation
effects -- and nominal ones has widened significantly in the past two years. According
to OPEC's reports, the OPEC reference basket has risen from $44.9 a barrel in
October 2008 -- when it was in free fall -- to $49.5 in October 2010, with the
difference between nominal and real prices rising from $24.26 a barrel to
$30.36 a barrel.
El-Badri said that the oil market is at a comfortable level for both producers
and consumers. The organization doesn't expect to change its output quota at
the meeting scheduled for Saturday, el-Badri said. "This is a normal
meeting," he said. "No increase, no decrease." The official said
that there is stability in the oil market.
OPEC's 12 members are
Ecuador
,
Algeria
,
Angola
,
Iran
,
Iraq
,
Kuwait
,
Libya
,
Nigeria
,
Qatar
,
Saudi
Arabia
, the
United
Arab Emirates
and
Venezuela
.
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