Indian Oil Minister Murli Deora has urged oil producing nations to pump extra oil to bring stability to volatile...
Indian Oil Minister Murli Deora has urged oil producing nations to pump extra oil to bring stability to volatile markets ahead of a June 22 meeting of major consumers and producers called by top exporter Saudi Arabia.
Although it is not yet clear whether Deora will attend the meeting in Jeddah, he asked Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi to approach other major producers over raising output, as current high prices would seriously impact growth, in the longer term affecting both producers and consumers.
In a letter to al-Naimi, Deora said the recent Saudi decision to lift output would help supply side management and thus stabilise the oil market.
"I would sincerely like to thank you for the initiative taken and request you to advise other major oil producing countries also to raise their output to calm the market further and revitalise global economic growth," he added.
U.S. crude futures for July fell 66 cents to $133.35 a barrel by 0225 GMT, taking four-day losses to more than $3.30 a barrel or 2.4 percent, due to a stronger dollar. The contract briefly hit a record of nearly $140 on Monday.
London Brent crude slipped 72 cents to $133.00.
United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon said over the weekend that Saudi Arabia was set to hike its oil output to 9.7 million bpd in July, indicating a total 550,000 bpd or 6 percent increase in supply since May.
Deora welcomed the Saudi move to raise output and "export it mainly to Asian markets where demand growth is currently the highest". India's biggest private refiner, Reliance Industries, on Tuesday said it would buy 30 percent of the additional Saudi supply of 300,000 barrels per day in June and would buy the same percentage of extra oil offered by the kingdom in July.
Reliance said it expects less volatility in oil markets after the June 22 meeting called by OPEC's most influential member.
