Iran's Opec governor yesterday said the group would decide on the crude production ceiling in September, but it had not scheduled an extraordinary meeting, reported the semi-official Mehr news agency.
"After evaluating all global market conditions, Opec will decide about the output ceiling at its next meeting. So far no extraordinary meeting has been scheduled," said Mohammad Ali Khatibi.
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) meets next in September.
Opec has repeatedly said prices of about $75-$80 per barrel are needed to secure investment in new oil supplies for the long term.
Opec Secretary-General Abdullah Al Badri said on Wednesday oil prices – now trading just above $60 per barrel – were "comfortable", but were still below the level the producer group wanted.
Earlier this year, the group said it was willing to live with lower prices to help the economy recover, but at its May meeting Opec said oil at about $75 a barrel could be achieved this year and the world was ready to cope. The oil market reached its highest level this year, at above $70 a barrel, in June, buoyed by investor optimism that the economy was strengthening. But this month the mood has changed.
Earlier, the International Energy Agency (IEA) had called for caution in government attempts to regulate the price of oil following discussions at the Group of Eight (G8) summit on stabilising energy prices. At the G8 summit in l'Aquila, Italy, world leaders appealed to producers and consumers in a joint statement to demonstrate more transparency and engage in dialogue to help curb volatility.
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