OPEC chief appeals for calm over oil

LONDON - OPEC Secretary General Abdullah al-Badri on Tuesday appealed for calm, saying the record-high oil price was unbearable and did not reflect any shortage of supply in the market.

By (Reuters)

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Published: Tue 10 Jun 2008, 6:38 PM

Last updated: Sun 5 Apr 2015, 1:08 PM

Oil jumped over $10 on Friday to over $139 a barrel, its biggest-ever one day rise. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries has blamed factors other than supply for oil's record run.

"I ask through you, through Reuters, really we need some calm. We are panicking too much," Badri told the Reuters Global Energy Summit.

"The situation is unbearable as far as we are concerned. I want to say, there is no shortage now and in the future."

Saudi Arabia, the world's top exporter and OPEC's most influential member, said on Monday it would soon call for a meeting to discuss what it called unjustified rises in prices.

Badri supported the idea of holding such a meeting, which he said might happen before the next scheduled OPEC gathering in September.

He also said he hoped that measures could be taken to curb speculation in the oil market.


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