OPEC TO ACT NEXT MONTH ON SAUDI PROPOSAL
OPEC members delayed on Saturday in Amsterdam a decision until their official meeting in Beirut on June 3. Venezuela opposes raising the output ceiling and Iran, OPEC's second-largest producer after Saudi Arabia, expressed concern that prices might drop later in the year.
"In the current environment, disharmony in OPEC is supportive of prices," said Nauman Barakat, senior vice-president at Refco Energy Markets in New York.
Oil prices have surged almost 40 per cent in the past year, reaching a record of US$41.85 a barrel in New York on Monday. US Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said he would seek assurances this weekend that OPEC, the source of more than a third of the world's oil, will increase supplies as rising fuel costs threaten to slow economic growth.
OPEC ministers, meeting informally in Amsterdam, said on Saturday that oil prices are climbing for reasons beyond their control, including a lack of refining capacity in the US, political tensions, investor speculation and accelerating global demand.
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