Venezuela's Chavez calls $100 fair price for oil

CARACAS (Reuters) - Oil prices at $100 a barrel are fair and Venezuela will do all it can within OPEC to keep prices high, President Hugo Chavez said on Friday.

Chavez said he expected crude to stay at its present levels in the medium term.

"This is not a situation that is a peak that then falls," he said in a televised speech. "We are sure of this and will do everything we can in OPEC to keep supporting the price of our oil."

U.S. light crude for April delivery was trading just below $99 on Friday, after a record rally over the last two weeks supported by an escalating legal battle between Venezuela and U.S. oil giant Exxon Mobil (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) over nationalized assets.

Venezuela, the fourth-largest exporter of oil to the United States, has been a consistent OPEC price hawk.

(Reporting by Brian Ellsworth; Editing by David Gregorio)