The European Union is worried about soaring oil prices and their impact on world economic growth, French Industry Minister Christian Pierret told a major oil forum on Saturday.
"The sudden rise in oil prices since the beginning of 1999 is worrying," Pierret said in a speech on the second day of the International Energy Forum in Riyadh.
France, which holds the rotating EU presidency, estimated "a one percent rise in inflation can be directly attributed to last year's rise in oil prices".
The increase "also cut 0.2 percent off the growth rate of the developed countries over the same period."
"The price of oil must therefore return to a level and achieve a stability which are compatible with continued world economic growth," Pierret said.
He called for "reasonable prices ... to encourage companies to invest in creating the production capacity required," and "which do not block the road to economic development by the emerging countries."
Pierret told AFP in an interview that a reasonable price was about 25 dollars a barrel, as mooted by numerous producers and OPEC, and stressed the need to strike a balance.
He said he would hold about 10 bilateral meetings with other ministers and had already met his Indonesian and Iranian counterparts and concentrated on French oil industry investments.
In his speech, Pierret underlined "the common will (of producers and consumers) to improve the stability of the oil markets and encourage renewed investments."
"This does not mean negotiating a jointly drafted text or mentioning target oil prices or production volumes."
The minister wanted the Saudi hosts of the forum to stress points of agreement resulting from the three-day meeting attended by some 400 delegates representing producers and consumers -- RIYADH (AFP)
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