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Speculation adds $ 8 to oil barrel: OPEC President
OPEC President Ali Rodriguez said on Tuesday that speculation on futures exchanges had added $ 8 to the price of a barrel of crude oil, which is currently at its highest level since the 1991 Gulf War.
He also blamed high taxes in oil consuming countries for high fuel prices at the pump.
''At the moment we estimate that speculation is adding $ 8 per barrel on top of the real price that a barrel should be worth based on supply and demand,'' said Mr Ali Rodricuez in a television interview in Caracas. US benchmark crude oil futures stood at $ 37.13 per barrel at 8:10 am IST on Wednesday, two cents below its post-gulf war peak on Monday, on fears that the US will run short of heating oil this winter. OPEC has increased its supply to world markets by 3.2 million barrels per day, or 14 per cent, this year in a vain attempt to dampen sizzling prices.
Bureau Report
''At the moment we estimate that speculation is adding $ 8 per barrel on top of the real price that a barrel should be worth based on supply and demand,'' said Mr Ali Rodricuez in a television interview in Caracas. US benchmark crude oil futures stood at $ 37.13 per barrel at 8:10 am IST on Wednesday, two cents below its post-gulf war peak on Monday, on fears that the US will run short of heating oil this winter. OPEC has increased its supply to world markets by 3.2 million barrels per day, or 14 per cent, this year in a vain attempt to dampen sizzling prices.
Bureau Report