Saudi Oil Minister Ali Naimi said it is too early to say if OPEC will definitely raise its output ceiling later this week, according to an interview published Monday in the Saudi daily newspaper, Al-Eqtisadiah.

"It's early to talk about output ceiling conclusively because a decision like this will be taken when OPEC ministers meet and after they review a report from the OPEC general secretariat about market conditions now and the rest of the year," Naimi said, according to the report.

OPEC meets Wednesday for the first time since the Arab Spring against a backdrop of triple-digit oil prices. The producer's organization had until recently been expected to hold production steady.

But in recent days, several Gulf producers have signaled favoring an output hike when OPEC meets Wednesday to respond to mounting demand, people familiar with the matter said this weekend. However, at least one OPEC member, Iran , vocally opposes such a move.

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