Reuters
Posted: 2009-05-28 11:41:28+05:30 IST
OPEC aims for USD 75 oilSaudi says world ready for $75-$80 oilOil hovers above USD 60 per barrelOil holds above USD 60 per barrel

Vienna: OPEC ministers set their sights on oil prices above $70 a barrel as they gathered for talks in Vienna, but they were expected to hold output steady and rely instead on economic recovery to push the market up.

Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said on Wednesday the world was ready to cope with oil at $75-$80 a barrel, the price range the leading oil exporter considers enough to sustain energy investment for the long term.

He said it could be reached before the end of this year.

Previously, Saudi Arabia signalled it could live with oil around $50 to help nurse the economy back to health.

Oil has already climbed from a low of $32.40 last December to six-month highs above $63 a barrel on Wednesday.

“The price rise is a function of optimism better things are coming in the future,” Naimi told reporters.

“We see offshoots of recovery,” he added. “There are a lot of positives in what I say because I am seeing a recovery.”

Representing the world’s biggest fuel consumer, the US government’s Energy Information Administration said too high an oil price could damage a fragile economy.