Price ceiling: Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Hamid bin Jasim has said the country would like to see oil prices between $70 and $90 per barrel
Qatar calls for oil ‘between $70 and $90’
Qatar believes that current oil prices are low and should be between $70 and $90 a barrel to satisfy consumers and producers, Prime Minister Sheikh Hamid bin Jasim said in comments published today.
"We believe oil prices should be in the reach of everybody," Reuters quoted Jassim as telling local media.
"But we want to be protected. The current prices are a bit low. We are talking about prices ranging from $70 to $90 which we think are fair for consumers and producers."
Meanwhile, Iran’s Opec governor Mohammed Ali Khatibi said in remarks published today that Opec would cut production further if the reduction in output agreed in Vienna last week does not stabilise the market.
Opec agreed on Friday to cut production by 1.5 million barrels per day. But traders said that action might not be enough to arrest the oil price slide.
Oil prices have tumbled from a record $147 a barrel in July to below $64 a barrel today.
"In case the reduction in production does not stabilise the oil market, Opec will again reduce its production ceiling," Khatibi was quoted as saying by Farhang-e Ashti newspaper.
Iran, Opec's second biggest producer after Saudi Arabia, is traditionally a price hawk and had called for a bigger cut. Iran is heavily dependent on oil revenues and some economists say it needs $70 to $75 a barrel or more to balance its books.