BackSaudi Arabia says oil to stabilize; UAE sees Opec rebalance
Market will stabilize itself, says Saudi Arabia's oil minister ahead of Opec meeting; Iran says there is oversupply of oil
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London: Saudi Arabia’s oil minister said crude prices will stabilize while the United Arab Emirates (UAE) said Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) will do what it takes to balance the market.
Angola predicted the 12-nation group will reach a consensus when it meets Thursday.
The “market will stabilize itself", Ali Al-Naimi, the Saudi minister, told reporters in Vienna on Wednesday. The world’s largest oil exporter on Tuesday failed to agree on a plan with Russia, Venezuela and Mexico to curb output. Iran’s oil minister said there is an oversupply of oil.
Oil ministers from the 12 nations in Opec will discuss their combined production after crude prices plunged 32% since June. Oil fell in part on speculation that Saudi Arabia and other Opec states wouldn’t take the necessary measures to curb a surplus.
“I am confident that we will take the right decision to stabilize the market," UAE energy minister Suhail Al- Mazrouei said in an interview in the Austrian capital on Tuesday.
“The market is getting bigger. Opec is not targeting a certain price."
Brent crude rose 0.3% to $78.58 a barrel at 10.19am in London on Wednesday. Its highest close this year on the ICE Futures Europe exchange was $115.06 a barrel on 19 June.
“If Opec does not cut production, then Brent would come under further pressure, possibly falling closer to $60-$70," Abhishek Deshpande, an oil markets analyst at London-based Natixis, said by e-mail. BLOOMBERG
Wael Mahdi in Manama, Jake Rudnitsky in Moscow and Rupert Rowling in London contributed to this story.
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