Opec oil producer Kuwait believes the big rise in oil prices is "unjustified" but beyond the control of producers, the country's prime minister told the UN General Assembly on Thursday. "The unjustified rise in prices, which is a source of concern, is caused by factors that are out of the control of the producing countries," Sheikh Nasser al-Mohammad al-Sabah said.
"Kuwait continues to follow a balanced oil policy, which takes into consideration the interests of the consuming as well as the producing ones, as well as maintain the stability of prices in the world market," he said. The Gulf nation is the world's seventh largest crude exporter. November US light crude rose $2.29, or 2.17 percent, to settle at $108.02 a barrel on Thursday on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX).
The factors pushing petroleum prices higher "include speculations, additional taxes on fuel, the lack of construction of new refineries, as well as, upgrading existing ones," Sheikh Nasser said. "The continued presence of all of these factors lead to the exacerbation of the economic crises and to the rise in the rates of inflation in the developing countries."