Saudi Arabia Says It Will Boost Oil Output in June

(Bloomberg) — Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, will increase crude oil production next month in response to customer requests.

The country will raise output by 300,000 barrels a day to 9.45 million barrels a day in June, Saudi Oil Minister Ali al- Naimi said in Riyadh today, following a meeting between U.S. President George W. Bush and Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah. Earlier today, U.S. National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said the Saudi policy was to supply extra oil only if customers needed it.


“On May 10 we increased our response to our customers by 300,000 barrels because they asked for it,” al-Naimi said. “So our production for June will be 9.45 million barrels per day. This is the request of about 50 customers worldwide.”

Crude oil futures traded in New York rose to a record about one hour after Bush landed in Saudi Arabia today. They later climbed as high as $127.82 a barrel, and last traded at $125.99.

Bloomberg