Iran's Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari said Sunday crude oil prices are dropping due to the strengthening of the U.S. dollar, the oil ministry's official Shana Web site reported.
"The most important cause of the fall in the price of oil in world markets is the change in the rate of the dollar against (other major) currencies," Shana cited Nozari as saying.
Nozari said world oil markets were still supplied with extra crude as last week's decision by Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to adjust production to existing quota levels hadn't been fully implemented, Shana reported.
"The excess supply of oil in the market still exists because OPEC's decision during the 149th OPEC meeting to not supply extra oil has not totally been implemented yet," Nozari said, according to Shana.
The glut of oil supplies is also driven by a sluggish global economy, Shana cited Nozari as saying.
"It must be considered that this year the economic growth of world countries fell in comparison to last year and it is predicted that this decline in growth will continue until 2009," he said, according to Shana.
OPEC will have the opportunity "to determine the oil production ceiling" at its extraordinary meeting coming up Dec. 17 in Algeria, Nozari said, Shana reported.