According to the Venezuelan Energy and Mines Minister, OPEC needs to raise...
According to the Venezuelan Energy and Mines Minister, OPEC needs to raise its target per-barrel oil prices to recoup losses caused by a weak U.S. dollar.
The dollar, the currency in which petroleum is priced, buys almost 30-per-cent less in world markets than it did two years ago.
As a result, OPEC should explore changing its policy of limiting production to levels that result in an average world price of between $22 and $28 US a barrel, Rafael Ramirez said in a statement.
"We need to enter into a discussion as to what is the real price of oil," Ramirez said in the statement, issued by Venezuela's vice presidential Palace in Caracas. "All of us know that there is a sustained depreciation in the value of the dollar."
The price of oil, which fell 0.3 per cent today to $34.27 US a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, has traded above the $22 to $28 a barrel range since Dec. 1 as members tried to adjust production to deal with the weaker U.S. currency.
