Qatar's Oil Minister Doesn't Expect 'Dramatic' Decision At OPEC Meeting

Qatar's Oil Minister Doesn't Expect 'Dramatic' Decision At OPEC Meeting

Qatar's oil minister said he does not expect OPEC to make a "dramatic" decision during the upcoming OPEC meeting in June, and that the market is still well supplied.

"We think the fundamentals are fine... I don't expect OPEC to take a dramatic decision," Mohammed al-Sada told reporters on the sidelines of an industry meeting in Doha on Sunday.

Oil fell on Friday to cap a frenzied trading week that sliced prices by a record of more than $16 a barrel on demand worries and a move by investors to slash commodities exposures.

Brent crude fell $1.67 to settle at $109.13 a barrel in heavy trade, with volumes twice the 30-day moving average. The contract tumbled $16.76 a barrel for the week, marking the largest weekly decline ever in dollar terms.

"Today the price of most commodities has dropped, not only oil. We think that fundamentals are fine and we cannot see any shortage of supply," said al-Sada.

He added that OPEC and non-OPEC countries were producing enough crude to keep stocks at a "healthy" levels, and it is in the interest of OPEC countries to reduce price volatility.

"We are after the stability of oil prices. It's in the interest of suppliers and consumers," he said.

Asked if he expects a free fall in the oil price similar to the one in 2008, al-Sada said it was unlikely.

"The world economy is not bad enough to a see a free fall (in oil prices). Many developing countries are sustaining healthy GDP growth."

(Reporting by Regan Doherty; Editing by Amena Bakr)

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions.

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