OPEC unlikely to raise output soon-Qatar

WASHINGTON, June 17 (Reuters) – The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is unlikely to agree to raise crude production any time soon, despite a steep rally in oil prices since winter, Qatar’s top energy official said on Wednesday.

“No, I don’t think so,” Abdullah al-Attiyah told Reuters when asked if the group would consider an output hike at its next meeting in September to cool a price spike some economists worry could hinder the economic recovery.

Attiyah, who is also Qatar’s deputy prime minister, said oil’s rally to over $70 a barrel from lows near $30 this winter was driven by speculators and that world demand for oil remained too weak for OPEC to consider boosting output.

Guardian