Opec's leading oil price hawk Iran joined Venezuela and Libya on Sunday to say it saw no need for the cartel to consider raising crude supplies to rein in crude prices now near $100 a barrel. Iranian Oil Minister Massoud Mirkazemi said some members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries saw no need for producers to act even if prices went to $120 a barrel.
The comments will be of concern for consumer countries worried that rising commodity costs are igniting inflation and jeopardising economic recovery. "None of the Opec members find $100 concerning or irrational. Some of the Opec members see no need for an emergency meeting even with prices at $110 or $120," Mirkazemi, Opec president for 2011, told a news conference.
Venezuelan Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said on Sunday that $100 was "fair value" for crude, a position that Libya also backs. The comments from Iran, Venezuela and Libya will leave consumer countries wondering whether more moderate producer Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates are prepared to take action to prevent prices escalating further.