Vienna, Oct 30: The Organisation Petroleum Exporting Countries expects oil prices to be stable for the rest of the year but fears downward pressure on prices due to high supply in 2004, OPEC Secretary General Alvaro Silva-Calderon said here today.
Silva-Calderon told a press conference that in regard to prices, "we expect stability for the rest of the year."
An OPEC production cut of 900,000 barrels per day from its current quota is to take effect on November 01.
Silva-Calderon said OPEC would evaluate how this affected oil prices in November before deciding at a meeting in Vienna in December whether to adjust the OPEC production quota further from its current level of 25.4 million barrels per day for the cartel's 11 nations.
Oil prices are currently at the high end of OPEC's target range of USD 22-28 a barrel.
But Silva Calderon said: "this level of price doesn't damage the world economy" and that in fact there were signs "the economy is improving in some regions."
He added: "the market is more than well supplied."
But Silva-Calderon voiced concern that in 2004 the global oil market could be awash with crude, putting downward pressure on prices, a development OPEC would need to watch closely.
Bureau Report