High oil prices likely to dominate APEC summit

High oil prices likely to dominate APEC summit

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): High oil prices which could derail East
Asia's economic recovery will be one of the main topics when
Asia-Pacific leaders hold a summit in November, a top US official
said Friday.

"We believe it will be treated in a responsible manner at the
leaders' meeting," Lawrence Greenwood, US senior official for
APEC, told reporters.

Leaders from the 21-member Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation
(APEC) forum, including President Bill Clinton, will hold their
annual summit in Brunei in November.

Greenwood is in Malaysia for talks with trade officials before
the APEC ministerial and leaders' meetings.

He said a three-day APEC senior officials' meeting in Brunei
from September 21 would discuss alternative fuel sources to
reduce the impact of rising oil prices.

Greenwood said matters such as speeding up work on alternative
fuels such as gas would be discussed. Some analytical work on the
impact of high oil prices may also be done, he said.

"The US continues to remain concerned (over high oil prices).
APEC will continue to work on this issue to ensure it does not
undermine the sustainability of the region's economic recovery,"
Greenwood said.

APEC finance ministers last Sunday appealed for oil producers
to boost production to curb high prices. They fear inflation led
by soaring oil prices could derail recovery.

On the same day the Organization of Oil Producing Countries
vowed to boost production by 800,000 barrels a day, beginning in
October.

Oil prices soared to a 10-year high last week to around 35
dollars a barrel.

APEC groups Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong
Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New
Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia,
Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam.