Kuwait City, April 20: Kuwait Oil Minister Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah al-Sabah on Tuesday said the current oil price is “good” and that he expected it to remain within the 75-90 dollars a barrel range.
“The oil price is good … I think it will remain in the range of 75-90 dollars a barrel,” Sheikh Ahmad told reporters after opening a symposium on transparency in oil industries.
The minister however warned against speculation and volatility in crude prices.
“We hope the increase in the oil price will remain within a reasonable range and that there won’t be spikes like before,” he said.
“Hopefully, speculation will no longer play (a role) in the price of oil,” he said when asked about the impact of fraud charges against Goldman Sachs.
Oil prices declined Monday after the US Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil suit against the Wall Street financial giant.
It accused Goldman Sachs of “defrauding investors by misstating and omitting key facts” about a financial product based on subprime mortgage-backed securities.
Last week, Sheikh Ahmad said the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries could step in to alter production quotas, which remained unchanged since December 2008, if oil price soars above 100 dollars a barrel.
In Asian trade on Tuesday, oil prices climbed following a rebound by the equities markets which had fallen over concerns from fraud charges against Goldman Sachs.
New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in May, was up 67 cents to 82.12 dollars a barrel.
Brent North Sea crude for June rose 45 cents to 84.68 dollars per barrel.
—Agencies