OPEC unlikely to cut oil output at March 15 meeting
OPEC, producer of 40 per cent of the world's oil, is unlikely to cut output at its March 15 meeting because crude prices near $60 a barrel are acceptable to producers and consumers, Qatar's energy minister said.
By Agencies |
DUBAI: OPEC, producer of 40 per cent of the world's oil, is unlikely to cut output at its March 15 meeting because crude prices near $60 a barrel are acceptable to producers and consumers, Qatar's energy minister said.
"There's no need to do anything if prices remain as they are," Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah said today in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The Qatari minister said Iran's standoff with the US over its nuclear program was a "growing concern" for the oil market.
Al-Attiyah will join 11 other oil ministers, representing members of The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries scheduled to meet on Thursday in Vienna to discuss whether a reduction in output will be required to maintain prices in the second quarter when demand is weak.
Crude oil has been trading above $60 a barrel in New York since February 21. Prices fell to $49.90 on January 18 as warmer-than-expected weather spread across the US and fuel inventories surged.
Crude traded at $59.67 a barrel in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 9 am Dubai time.
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OPEC promised to cut supply at its last two meetings in October and December by a combined 1.7 million barrels a day, to compensate for a post-winter decline in heating oil demand. Download
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