LONDON, June 7: World oil prices fell on Tuesday after Opec comments suggesting an increase in crude production output, while traders anticipated rising energy stocks in the United States. New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in July, fell 44 cents to $54.05 per barrel in early deals.

In London, the price of Brent North Sea crude oil for delivery in July lost 32 cents to $53.35 per barrel.

The president of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said on Tuesday he would propose a 500,000 barrel per day hike in the cartel’s output ceiling at a meeting next week if prices remain at high levels.

“If prices continue at this high level, I will, as Opec president, propose to increase this (production) ceiling by 500,000 bpd at the Opec ministers’ meeting in Vienna” on June 15, Sheikh Ahmed Fahd al-Sabah, who is also Kuwait’s energy minister, told reporters.

However, he said the proposed rise would not add to the 11-member cartel’s current actual production because “the real (over) production is already in the market”.

“Our real production now is over 30 million bpd for the Opec-11... We are already over the ceiling.”

Fears of a shortage of distillate products during the next northern hemisphere winter pushed prices on Monday to highs of $55.55 in New York and $54.62 in London.

But world oil prices fell back as traders expected the US Department of Energy (DoE) to unveil increases in crude stocks in Wednesday’s weekly snapshot of inventories — forecast to show a jump in distillates.—AFP