Beijing: Opec is satisfied with the current crude oil price, the president of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Angolan oil minister Jose Botelho de Vasconcelos said.

Asked if he was happy with the current oil price, he said, “Yes, I think so, because the price is good for all of us, consumers and producers. The economy has recovered a little bit and the price is balanced.

“We don’t have a price target,” he said, speaking on the sidelines of a conference in Beijing.

He said a price between $68 and $71 per barrel was appropriate, Xinhua news agency reported.

Opec’s job was to balance and stabilise the market, with current production of 25 million barrels per day, he said.

“At these levels, we are contributing to the market to stabilise the prices.”

Angola was China’s second-biggest supplier of crude oil last year after Saudi Arabia, shipping 29.9 million tonnes, or 600,000 barrels of oil per day.

Botelho de Vasconcelos declined to comment on the chance of Angola signing an oil-for-loan deal, as several other of China’s trading partners, including Brazil and Russia, have done this year.

“China worked with us to build our country,” he said. “The contracts with some Chinese companies are working.”