Saudi, Algeria Oil Ministers See Consumption Rising This Year

“Oil demand is very good, it is going to increase this year,” Saudi Arabia’s Ali al-Naimi said to Bloomberg in Doha yesterday. Consumption will grow in China, India and the Middle East, as those countries “are not affected by what’s happening in Greece,” Algeria’s Chakib Khelil said in an interview.

Ministers from Arab oil-producing nations gathering in Doha showed no signs of wanting to raise or lower OPEC existing production targets even as oil prices declined 13 percent last week, the biggest drop since December 2008. Crude slumped as U.S. gasoline inventories exceed seasonal norms and Europe struggled with the Greek debt crisis that may slow economic recovery and demand for fuel.

Business Week