Iran sees oil at 150 dollars a barrel this summer
Tuesday, 10 June 2008
TEHRAN, June 9 (AFP): The price of crude oil is set to rise even further to 150 dollars a barrel by the end of summer, Iran's representative to the OPEC oil cartel warned yesterday.
"I foresee the price of oil reaching around 150 dollars a barrel by the end of the summer," the state broadcaster's website quoted Mohammad Ali Khatibi as saying.
His comments came after New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for July delivery, Friday leapt 10.75 dollars a barrel-its biggest one- day jump ever-to close at a record 138.54 dollars.
The rise was partly fuelled by a warning by an Israeli minister about a possible military strike on Iran over its contested nuclear programmeme.
But Khatibi said that he believed that prices might fall back slightly in the short term after the 10 dollar leap registered Friday.
"The single-day jump of some 10 dollars is not stable and we must wait for markets to reopen tomorrow (Monday) to see what the price will be."
Iran, OPEC's number two exporter and the fourth biggest worldwide, has rejected calls from oil consuming nations for a hike in the output quota of the cartel, saying the high prices are not driven by fundamentals.
Iranian Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari has said the market is currently oversupplied with oil and a production hike from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries would have no effect on prices.
"I foresee the price of oil reaching around 150 dollars a barrel by the end of the summer," the state broadcaster's website quoted Mohammad Ali Khatibi as saying.
His comments came after New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for July delivery, Friday leapt 10.75 dollars a barrel-its biggest one- day jump ever-to close at a record 138.54 dollars.
The rise was partly fuelled by a warning by an Israeli minister about a possible military strike on Iran over its contested nuclear programmeme.
But Khatibi said that he believed that prices might fall back slightly in the short term after the 10 dollar leap registered Friday.
"The single-day jump of some 10 dollars is not stable and we must wait for markets to reopen tomorrow (Monday) to see what the price will be."
Iran, OPEC's number two exporter and the fourth biggest worldwide, has rejected calls from oil consuming nations for a hike in the output quota of the cartel, saying the high prices are not driven by fundamentals.
Iranian Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari has said the market is currently oversupplied with oil and a production hike from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries would have no effect on prices.