24 June:Oil prices rose towards USD 138 a barrel on Tuesday, closing in on record highs, as OPEC’s president rebuffed calls from oil consuming countries for increased supplies from the cartel.
At about 1020 GMT (1550 IST), New York’s main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for August delivery, was up 94 cents at USD 137.68 per barrel.Brent North Sea crude for August climbed by 103 to USD 136.94.
"OPEC has already done what OPEC can do and prices will not come down," the cartel’s president Chakib Khelil told journalists on Tuesday as he arrived for a meeting with EU energy officials in Brussels.
Saudi Arabia, the leading member within the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, said at a weekend summit of oil consumers and producers that it was hiking daily output by more than 2,00,000 barrels to 9.7 million.
The move was expected but the world’s lynchpin crude producer said it could significantly raise output again if necessary."Everybody’s waiting to see exactly what OPEC an or cannot do," said David Johnson, an oil analyst with Macquarie Research in Hong Kong.
Soaring crude prices to records close to USD 140 have triggered protests in several countries amid concerns for global economic growth.’No magic wand’ to solve soaring oil prices overnight: US
Amidst soaring oil prices posing a threat to the world economy, the United States has said there is "no magic wand" to solve the problem overnight.
"There’s no magic wand. It’s not going to be a problem that we solve overnight. I don’t think anybody anticipated that this (Jeddah) conference was going to have an immediate impact on price or on the stock market," the White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said at her press briefing.
Perino was asked to comment on the recently concluded Ministerial conference in Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah where in spite of a pledge of upping production there has been no let up in the prices of oil.
"What we need to do is take a longer-term view, make sure that we are sending a signal to the market that we want to increase supply here in our own country, as well as continuing on our conservation efforts to decrease demand so that we can get this balance back in place.
"The important thing to do in regards to the long-term planning is to send a signal to the markets so that they know that this time the government of the United States is serious," she said.Courtsey : DD NEWS