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Saudis May Boost Oil Supply Even Higher
But OPEC blames speculators and credit crisis for high prices
By Caroline Zimmerman
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Posted Jun 22, 08 4:11 PM CDT
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(Newser)
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A hastily organized summit meeting in Saudi Arabia today offered little relief to oil consumers, Bloomberg reports. The Saudis did vow to increase production if needed, but OPEC blamed speculators and the credit crisis, not markets, for surging oil prices. "Saudi Arabia is prepared and willing to produce additional barrels of crude above and beyond the 9.7 million barrels per day," a Saudi minister said.
Libya said it may slash its own production in response to the Saudi move. Saudi Arabia's capacity will be 12.5 million barrels of oil a day by next year, and could rise by 2.5 million according to demand. "We expect Saudi Arabia to open the taps," said an Austrian minister, concerned that $135 oil will lead to rampant inflation.