UAE oil minister says price spikes "crazy"
CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Recent huge spikes in oil prices are "crazy" and unrelated to supply and demand fundamentals as world markets are adequately supplied with crude, the United Arab Emirates energy minister told Reuters on Tuesday.
Still, the OPEC member would be pleased to join in a meeting with oil-consuming countries to discuss runaway prices because they are hurting economies, Mohammed al-Hamli said. Saudi Arabia will host such a gathering later this month.
"There is no shortage of crude oil in the market. Inventory levels are huge," Hamli said after speaking at a conference in Canada.
On Friday, U.S. crude jumped $10.75 to a record close of $138.54 a barrel, capping a two-day surge of more than $16 and stunning analysts who saw little fundamental reason for the spike.
"If you look at prices moving by $10 a day, that doesn't make sense," Hamli said.
"That's crazy."
The UAE has spare capacity and is "quite happy" to supply more oil if called upon, he said.
The Gulf country wants the global economy to keep growing and hopes crude costs do not stand in the way, he said.
"High prices are really hurting the world economy," Hamli said.
Abdullah al-Badri, secretary general of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, said on Tuesday that Saudi Arabia will host a producer-consumer meeting in Jeddah on June 22.
U.S. crude was off $2.24 at $132.11 a barrel on Tuesday afternoon.
(Reporting by Scott Haggett; Writing by Jeffrey Jones; Editing by Peter Galloway)
