Not worried: Abdullah al-Attiyah, Qatar oil minister
'World has enough crude'
Opec president Abdullah al-Attiyah said today that the world's oil supply is ample, adding there is no need for Opec to boost output to lower near-record prices.
Opec is certain that factors beyond supply and demand have pushed prices higher.
Oil hit a record $111.80 a barrel on March 17 and was trading around $109 today.
"Supply is there. Stocks are in pretty good shape. We are entering the period when we see lower demand," Algeria’s oil minister, Chakib Khelil, told reporters on the sidelines of a conference in London reported Reuters.
"Nothing has changed to change at least my view of the situation, which is there is really no need for increasing the supply."
"I am confident there is no shortage of oil at all," Abdullah al-Attiyah who is also Qatar's oil minister, told Reuters.
Opec pumps about two in every five barrels of oil. Its view on supply contrasts with that of other consumers, such as the US.
The EIA said earlier today that the market remained "fundamentally tight" and that a higher level of oil inventories would be "desirable."
Opec has stated in its last three meetings that the world had enough crude.
The group has not scheduled another meeting until September and there is little chance ministers will gather during an energy forum in Rome on April 20-22, Khelil said.
The Opec ministers repeated the organisation's view that factors including the weakness of the dollar, speculative trading and political tension in the world are lifting prices, not a lack of oil.
"The price is not related to supply at all but is under the influence of speculators," al-Attiyah said. "We don't see any panic in the world. There are no queues at gas stations."
Analysts say the weak dollar has helped boost the price of oil and other commodities as investors seek a hedge against inflation. That weakness is likely to persist, Khelil said.
"We see more lowering of the value of the dollar in the near future, as far as I am concerned," he said. "Consequently, we should see more impact on the oil price."
In an interview published today in a London-based newspaper al-Hayat, Attiyah said Opec would act should a world recession hit demand.
"Should there be a global economic recession, demand would decline in this case and Opec would have to intervene to strike a balance between supply and demand," he said.
He said Opec should react immediately should oil fall under $80, adding that crude should not be allowed to fall beyond a certain level because that would have a dire impact on the oil industry.