Do More With Reuters
Partner Services

UPDATE 2-World oil markets over-supplied-Venezuela's oil min

Sun May 24, 2009 11:44pm IST
 
Email | Print | | Single Page
[-] Text [+]

(Adds Ecuadorean oil minister's comments and details)

QUITO, May 24 (Reuters) - Oil markets are currently oversupplied, but it is still too early to decide whether OPEC needs to cut production at its next meeting, Venezuelan Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said on Sunday.

He said OPEC's objective is to see oil prices at around $60 per barrel this year and at $70 per barrel next year.

Ecuadorean Oil Minister Derlis Palacios said later he saw no need for OPEC to cut output as world oil prices start to stabilize.

"I don't think it is necessary. Markets are more stable," Palacios told reporters.

OPEC members Saudi Arabia and Libya have said they believe oil prices will keep rising to eventually hit $75 a barrel, but acknowledged the weak world economy is keeping demand down.

Libya said oil demand could rise by the third quarter if the U.S. economy recovers, but top oil producer Saudi Arabia fretted about weak demand outside Asia as it urged the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to "stay the course" before its meeting.

OPEC members are planning to meet on May 28 when analysts expect the group to keep production unchanged. (Reporting by Alonso Soto and Jose Llangari, Editing by Maureen Bavdek and Jan Paschal)

Pigeons fly in front of Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai November 26, 2009. Mumbai's police paraded past some of the city's landmarks in a show of strength as India's financial hub marked the first anniversary of militant raids that killed 166 people and ratched up tensions with Pakistan. The hotel was one of the sites of the attacks. REUTERS/Arko Datta
One Year Later

Mumbai held tearful memorials and police staged a show of strength as it marked the first anniversary of militant raids that killed 166 people and ratcheted up tensions with Pakistan.  Slideshow | Full Coverage 

A supporter of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) holds a picture of BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani during an election campaign rally in Balasinor, about 90 km (56 miles) east of Ahmedabad, April 14, 2009. REUTERS/Amit Dave
Liberhan Commission Report

The government published a long awaited report, recently leaked, accusing BJP leaders of a role in the 1992 destruction of the Babri mosque in Ayodhya.  Full Article 

Thierry Henry's handball scandal

Barcelona's Thierry Henry takes part in a training session at Nou Camp Stadium in Barcelona, November 23, 2009. Barcelona and Inter Milan will play their soccer Champions League match on Tuesday. REUTERS/Albert Gea
FIFA to hold meeting

FIFA to hold an extraordinary meeting before World Cup draw to discuss Thierry Henry's handball in the qualifiers and discovery of match-fixing ring by German police.  Full Article