Kuwait oil min says oil prices should rebound

KUWAIT: Crude oil prices should bounce back once global markets regain confidence following last week's downgrade of the US credit rating, the oil minister of OPEC-member Kuwait said on Sunday.

"We hope that this drop (in oil markets) does not last for a long time and we start seeing international markets recovering gradually after the panic we have seen from the situation in the US and Europe," Mohammad al-Busairi told Reuters in an interview on Sunday.

Kuwait's crude output averaged 2.6-2.7 million barrels per day (mbpd) in July, peaking at 2.8 mbpd on some days, Busairi said, adding that the country's output in August would depend on demand.

Copyright Reuters, 2011