Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia said today Opec was striving for a “fair and stable” oil price, of around US$60 for US crude.
Wary of supposed high fuel stockpiles in the world’s biggest fuel consumer the United States, some Opec ministers have raised the possibility of cutting output again in December, deepening a 1.2 million barrel per day reduction agreed last month.
“It is important for us to obtain the best possible returns from oil through fair and stable prices…” Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said. The influential Saudi oil minister has said Opec would cut supplies again when the producer group meets on December 14 in Nigeria if recent curbs failed to balance the market and that prices were not a decisive factor.
However oil has risen to a two-month high to over US$62 a barrel after US inventory data showed unexpected declines in stocks of America’s winter fuel supplies.
And the cold weather hasn’t even hit the East Coast yet…
All this, mind you, on the day that Cheney was in Riyadh meeting with King Abdullah…