Saudi prince sees imbalance in oil market

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WIRE:03/09/2000 12:08:00 ET Saudi prince sees imbalance in oil market

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) _ In another sign that OPEC may increase oil output soon, Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah said today that the gap between the demand and supply of oil is not in the interests of producers or consumers. The remarks, reported by the official Saudi Press Agency, came a day after crude oil prices plummeted more than 9 percent on signs OPEC nations are about to loosen their tight grip on production.

In early trading today in New York, crude oil inched back up 44 cents to $31.70 a barrel in what traders called a technical response to Wednesday's sharp drop-off. Oil prices had more than tripled since late 1998, partly due to OPEC's production cutbacks.

"Yes, there is an imbalance," Abdullah was quoted as saying by the news service. "I want to reaffirm the importance of stability of supply and prices at reasonable levels."

Abdullah said volumes and prices would be discussed at the ministerial meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in Vienna on March 27, where the "appropriate" decisions would be taken to restore balance to the market.

As crude oil and product prices have climbed sharply in the past two months, the United States has increased pressure on OPEC to raise its output in April, when the current agreements on production cuts expire.

The agreements, reached between OPEC and non-OPEC members, withdrew about 5 million barrels a day from the market and boosted prices sharply. Crude oil broke through $34 a barrel late Wednesday for the first time since 1990.

http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/ap20000309_1219.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), March 09, 2000


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