Wednesday, March 01, 2006

Do I hear 60?

Why yes, I do. Looks like OPEC is signaling it wants the new floor at $60.

AP: OPEC President: $60 'Fair Price' for Oil.

Quotes:

While tight markets and global tensions have pushed up prices, the president of OPEC said Wednesday there's plenty of oil with the global surplus expected to grow at current production levels.

The assessment by Nigerian Oil Minister Edmund Daukoru in an interview with The Associated Press provided an indication that the OPEC producers are likely to pull back on production levels when they meet March 8.

....

Daukoru, who is OPEC president this year, declined to speculate what the cartel will do, but said its discussions "should be against the background of that anticipated overhang" which he suggested could lead to a collapse in oil prices.

He called $60 a barrel for oil a "fair price" and said oil prices should be kept at "an equilibrium with global economic growth." He cautioned if prices are allowed to edge toward $70-a-barrel "everybody gets nervous" about the impact on the global economy.