CAIRO, May 11: United Arab Emirates Oil Minister Obaid bin Saif al-Nasseri said on Saturday he saw no need for Opec to raise supplies at its June meeting unless there was a dramatic change in oil market fundamentals.

For the time being, unless there is a dramatic change in oil prices or stock levels before the end of June, there is no need to change production, he told reporters on the sidelines of the 7th Arab Energy Conference in Cairo.

Supply and demand is OK, and stocks are very high...so there is no need for extra supplies now, he said.

Several other ministers in Opec have said they expect the group to keep output steady at the next Opec meeting on June 26, extending stringent output limits that have helped lift oil prices by more than $5 since the end of February.

Qatar’s Oil Minister Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah also supported Nasseri’s view on Saturday, reiterating sentiments he expressed earlier this month.

There is no reason for it (a change). Supply and demand are in balance and supply might be bigger than demand, Attiyah told reporters.

We in Opec continue to stress that price alone must not be the strategic aim of our decisions, he said, adding that psychological factors, politics and market speculation affected prices, making the fundamentals of supply and demand the basis on which ministers should take their decisions.

A Saudi oil source at Saturday’s meeting said Opec was unlikely to call for an increase in production for the third quarter if current market fundamentals remained the same.

But it’s still too early to make a final judgement, because the supply-demand picture might change in the next few weeks, he said.

Definitely prices are on the high side now, but they are on the high side because of political tension, the source said, adding that the so-called war premium may have tacked on as much as $5 a barrel.

Attiyah said prices of around $25 were acceptable to both consumers and producers.—Reuters