KUWAIT CITY (Thomson Financial) - OPEC president Chakib Khelil said on Sunday that the oil-producer cartel should not increase output now because the market was well-balanced.
'There is no need for OPEC to raise its production now ... Any increase in output will not affect oil prices because there is a balance between supply and demand,' Khelil said in comments cited by the KUNA news agency.
Khelil, who is also Algerian energy minister, is in Kuwait as part of a delegation accompanying the Algerian president.
'We raised production last year and prices continued to rise ... If we raise output, we will not find buyers for the increase,' he said.
Khelil however said that the 13-member OPEC has the ability to boost production by 2 million barrels per day, mostly from Saudi Arabia.
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