OPEC won’t cut its collective crude output when it meets later this month and global oil prices will stabilize once the surplus is absorbed by the market, Kuwait Oil Minister Ali Al-Omair said.
OPEC, which supplies about 40 percent of the world’s oil, meets Nov. 27 to debate supply.
The 12-member Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which has a production target of 30 million barrels a day, pumped 30.974 million barrels a day in October, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. “I don’t think there will be any cut in the production,” Al-Omair said at a conference in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. “We feel prices will settle down once surplus oil is absorbed.”
Oil tumbled into a bear market this year as supply expanded from the US to Libya. OPEC members Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have resisted calls to cut output while Libya, Venezuela and Ecuador have asked for action to prevent even lower prices.
Kuwait has no plans to cut its own crude production, which should increase to 4 million barrels from a current by 2020, Al-Omair said. Kuwait produced 2.85 million barrels a day in October.
Brent crude rose by $1 toward $85 a barrel on Monday, climbing for a second straight session as protests in Libya disrupted supply and the US dollar fell from four-year highs. Brent crude for December was up $1.30 at $84.69 per barrel by 1305 GMT. US crude was up 85 cents at $79.50 per barrel.
The dollar fell 0.3 percent against a basket of currencies on Monday, supporting oil prices. The dollar’s recent strength has made oil and other commodities more expensive for holders of other currencies, suppressing demand.
