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Tehran: Iran's oil minister yesterday questioned the need for the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) to hike production to cool surging oil prices, snubbing calls for more crude from its Western foes, the US and Britain.
Crude hit a record high of $114.08 a barrel on Tuesday.
"Why should Opec try to lower prices? ... Let America and Britain continue demanding," oil minister Gholamhossein Nozari told reporters on the sidelines of a conference in Tehran when asked about the calls from consumers for Opec to act.
British prime minister Gordon Brown on Tuesday urged producers to open the taps to counter high prices, echoing a call by the United States.
Nozari, who heads the oil industry in Opec's second-biggest producer, described the current price as 'suitable' and blamed factors like the weak US dollar for the price surge.
"Oil supply is more than demand in the market but because of other factors including the US dollar losing its value, the price of oil is going up," Nozari said.
Opec has also said there is no shortage of supply. As well as a weak dollar, it points to issues like speculative trading and political tensions for price rises.
Meeting
Nozari said he saw no reason for an exceptional meeting by Opec because the group had no power to act in a market where demand and supply were not the driving forces.
"I don't think there is a need for an extraordinary meeting to discuss the level of production or the current prices," Nozari said.
Investment: US Sanctions 'ineffective'
In its bid to isolate Iran, the US has long imposed sanctions that target the country's oil industry and other areas. It has also been urging foreign firms to steer clear of the country.
Iranian oil minister Gholamhossein Nozari said sanctions on Iran were not deterring investors or hampering the country's oil industry. "Sanctions and threats are old, dull and ineffective instruments for Iran's oil industry," he said. "Foreign companies are still coming to invest in Iran."
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