Opec not expected to up supplies

Monday, 10 September 2007

Oil prices eased slightly in Monday trading, despite growing indications that producers' cartel Opec is not about to unveil a rise in supplies.

As the 12-nation group gathers in Vienna for a meeting on Tuesday, a number of Opec ministers said they saw no reason to boost supplies.

By afternoon in Europe, US light was down 72 cents to $75.98 a barrel, and Brent had lost 85 cents to $74.22.

More oil output could ease US economic jitters, it has been suggested.

'Very tight'

The International Energy Agency (IEA), which represents the world's leading 26 oil consuming nations, said on Monday that additional oil supplies will be needed in the coming months to meet demand.

"We think that the current market is very tight," said IEA executive director Nobuo Tanaka.

However, arriving in Vienna, Opec ministers do not seem to agree.

"There is enough crude in the market," said Iran's acting oil minister Gholam Hossein Nozari.

Nigeria's state minister for petroleum, Odein Ajumogobia, added that while he did not want to pre-empt the Opec meeting, he did not see any reason to alter current output levels.

Over the last year, Opec - which supplies more than a third of the world's oil - has cut deliveries by about 6%.

US light crude hit a record high of $78.77 a barrel on 1 August.

Other Opec members include Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Venezuela.