Kuwait 'comfortable' with oil at $100 a barrel

31 May, 2012

"Kuwait is comfortable with oil prices so long they remain within the $100 range.

This price is acceptable to producing and consuming nations," Zanki was quoted as saying by the official KUNA news agency.

World oil prices rebounded Thursday, mirroring European stock markets, after plunging overnight to a fresh seven-month low on demand fears linked to the eurozone debt crisis.

New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate crude for delivery in July added 38 cents to $88.20 a barrel, after diving in Asian trade to $87.42 -- the lowest level since October 24.

Brent North Sea crude for July rose 53 cents to $104.00 a barrel in London deals. The contract plunged on Wednesday to $102.85, a level last reached in mid-December.

Zanki attributed the sharp spikes in oil prices to tensions over the Iranian nuclear programme and the eurozone economic crisis, adding that conventional factors like supply and demand, and currency exchange rates are no longer playing an effective role in oil prices.

He said that Kuwait's production capacity has been slightly boosted to 3.2 million barrels per day and output remains just slightly above 3.0 million bpd. This makes Kuwait OPEC's third largest producer.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2012

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