LOC20:05
17:05 GMT
ALGIERS, Dec 20 (KUNA) -- Oil prices will start rebounding as of next month
when OPEC's fresh cuts of 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd) take effect in the
first month of 2009, Algerian energy minister Chekib Khalil said Saturday.
Had OPEC failed to reduce production, Khalil told state-run radio, oil
prices would have plunged further.
In a meeting in the Algerian city of Oran last Wednesday, OPEC decided to
cut production by a total of 4.2 million bpd based on last September output.
The cuts will take effect as of next month.
Khalil, also OPEC's rotating president, attributed the declining oil prices
to high oil stocks in the US and almost complete halt of refineries in
America, coupled with the global financial meltdown.
Oil prices also declined due to projection that Chinese economy would only
grow by five percent against eight percent this year, he added.
OPEC seeks a price range between USD 70-80 per barrel. (end)
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KUNA 202005 Dec 08NNNN