April 29, 2008	Tuesday	Rabi-us-Sani 22, 1429

NEW YORK, April 28: President of Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries Chakib Khelil has blamed the fall in the US dollar for a surge in oil prices and did not rule out prices rising to $200 a barrel.

“Without geopolitical problems and the fall in the dollar, the prices of oil would not be at this level,” he was quoted as saying in Algerian government newspaper El Moudhajid.

Oil hit a new record near $120 a barrel on Monday, fuelled by a series of bullish factors that include big disruptions to Nigeria’s output and a UK refinery strike, highlighting anxieties over threats to supply.

Prices held firm despite a rally in the US dollar versus the euro and yen, which reflected some expectations that the US Federal Reserve may not cut interest rates this week.

“The Federal Reserve will have a chance to bolster the dollar if it decides to hold the line on further rate increases,” an analyst at the brokerage firm MF Global said in a research note. “Both these developments could possibly induce a correction in energy prices later in the week, but for now the trend appears higher still.”

Investors are now focused on the Federal Reserve’s interest rate setting meeting which starts on Tuesday. Financial markets expect a cut in interest rates to help revive the flagging US economy, but some investors believe the Fed could signal its rate cutting is over.