Oil prices fall on calming comments from Saudi Arabia

Oil prices fall on calming comments from Saudi Arabia

Agence France-Presse
London

World oil prices fell on Tuesday following comments from OPEC
king in Saudi Arabia that it could increase output in the face of
higher global demand, dealers said.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in
June, dropped 47 U.S.cents to US$54.10 per barrel in electronic
deals.

In London, the price of Brent North Sea crude oil for delivery
in June shed 25 U.S.cents, also to $54.10 per barrel.

After meeting U.S. President George W. Bush in Texas on
Monday, Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz indicated the
kingdom -- the biggest oil producer in the world -- could boost
output further if needed.

"Saudi Arabia has some spare capacity that it can produce,
should we be asked to produce that spare capacity by our
customers," said Adel al-Jubeir, a senior foreign policy adviser
to the prince.

Analysts said Jubeir's comments eased supply concerns after
Saudi Arabian oil minister Ali al-Nuaimi said last on Thursday
that his country was "not responsible for the price of oil in the
market".

"Comments from Saudi Arabia indicating that they have plenty
of spare capacity and are meeting customer demands at the moment
has had an effect on oil prices over the last day or so," said
Daniel Hynes, a commodity analyst with the ANZ Bank analyst in
Melbourne, Australia.