Iraq's Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani said Thursday he saw "no need" for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to increase production, pointing to the latest information which showed there was no shortage of oil supplies.
Al-Shahristani, who held talks with top European Union officials on boosting energy ties, said Friday's meeting of oil ministers of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in Vienna was unlikely to result in a boost in output.
"The prices are not really affected by fundamental market forces," Al-Shahristani told reporters. "It is speculators that keep on moving the price, so we don't think there is a shortage on the oil market, there is no need to increase production."
He reassured E.U. nations and other global customers of OPEC oil the group "will always be ready to supply the world market with its need of energy."
"This is a policy we have taken and will continue by," Al-Shahristani said, adding OPEC nations would also not now decrease production either.
European nations and especially the U.S. are seeking lower-priced oil to help it avert a recession.
U.S. officials have said higher prices are a result of tight oil supplies, an argument the Iraqi oil minister, whose country is set to boost production when it opens new oil and gas fields expected in the next few years, rejected.