June 20, 2008	Friday	Jamadi-us-Sani 15, 1429

LONDON, June 19: Oil prices slumped on Thursday after Saudi Arabia said it planned to boost daily output by 200,000 barrels to help cool record-breaking energy costs.

The world’s biggest exporter of crude oil said it would ramp up daily crude production to 9.65 million barrels per day.

Riyadh made the announcement in a statement posted on its London embassy website, but this was later withdrawn without any comment or elaboration.

“Saudi Arabia recently announced a plan to increase oil output by 200,000 barrels per day,” said the statement posted on the country’s London embassy website.

Saudi Arabia had not been expected to announce its plans for a production hike until a high-level meeting between producers and consumers, due in Jeddah on Sunday, to discuss ways of curtailing soaring oil prices on world markets.

The Saudi embassy statement appeared to confirm comments on Sunday from UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who said that Saudi Arabia had told him it would increase its oil output by 200,000 bpd next month.—AFP