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OPEC head clarifies no oil price goal for bloc
THE head of OPEC yesterday said the group had no target price for oil, signaling no change to a policy to maintain production levels which has contributed to sharp falls in the price of crude, unnerving global markets.
Speaking at an event in Dubai, Abdullah al-Badri said the oil price, which dropped to a succession of five-year lows in recent days, had fallen further than market fundamentals should have dictated.
He urged Gulf states to continue investing in exploration and production, saying the US would continue to rely on Middle East crude for many years.
The comments were al-Badri’s first since OPEC, or the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, left its output levels flat at a meeting last month, when the group also said it had no target price.
“The fundamentals should not lead to this dramatic reduction (in price),” al-Badri, a Libyan, said in Arabic in remarks made through an English interpreter.
Oil’s relentless slide pounded energy stocks and currencies exposed to crude exports on Friday, doused appetite for riskier assets and pushed investors into the safety of government debt despite strong US consumer sentiment.
Adding to the effects of OPEC’s unchanged production level, a lower demand growth forecast from the International Energy Agency further put the skids under oil, raising concerns of possible broader negative effects such as debt defaults by companies and countries heavily exposed to crude prices.
There was also talk of the price trend adding to deflation pressures in Europe, increasing bets that the European Central Bank will be forced to resort to further stimulus early next year.
Al-Badri said OPEC sought a price level that was suitable and satisfactory both for consumers and producers, but did not specify a figure. Asked if there was a need for an emergency OPEC meeting before June, al-Badri said: “I don’t know.”
Al-Badri said November’s decision to leave output flat was not aimed at any other oil producer.
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