February 03, 2007	Saturday	Muharram 14, 1428

PARIS, Feb 2: The International Energy Agency warned on Friday that an Opec-style gas cartel, an idea raised this week by Russian President Vladimir Putin, would reduce demand and hurt producers.

“A cartel is always bad news for consumers and consumer countries,” the IEA said in a statement here. But it added that “cartels are also counterproductive for producing countries.”

”Pushing up prices by forming a cartel will encourage consumers to reduce demand or switch to other fuels.”

The agency, which seeks to coordinate energy policies among leading industrialised nations, maintained that “the market is simply more efficient.”—AFP