UPDATE 1-Iran sees crude price at $150/bbl in near future-agency

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TEHRAN, June 28 (Reuters) - A senior Iranian oil official said he expected crude prices to rise to $150 a barrel in the near future with the onset of higher demand in summer, the semi- official Mehr news agency reported on Saturday.

Oil hit another record near $143 a barrel on Friday as a drop in global equities markets sent investors into commodities.

"It seems the prices' upward trend will continue and it is anticipated that the price of each barrel of oil will reach $150 in the near future," Hojjatollah Ghanimifard, a senior oil official, told the news agency.

"As we get near the final days of the current month and the arrival of the high-consumption summer season the possibility of a hike in the price of oil increases," Ghanimifard added.

Ghanimifard repeated Iran's previous stance that the crude price rise was not due to shortage of supply in the market.

OPEC member Iran has often said it sees no need for the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to boost output, as the United States and other big oil consumers want.

Iran, the world's fourth-largest oil exporter, has repeatedly said the market is well-supplied and blames rising prices on speculation, a weak dollar and geopolitical tension.

(Reporting by Hashem Kalantari, writing by Zahra Hosseinian; Editing by Jason Neely)