Oil Prices Soar, Exceeding $57

The continuing increase of oil prices forces OPEC to make a new increase in the production output, although it has already increased production to 500,000 barrels per day, reaching a total of 27.500 million barrels. The head of OPEC and Kuwait Oil Minister Sheikh Ahmed Al Fahd Al Sabah said Thursday (March 17) that they would start new negotiations next week to increase the production if the prices continue to remain high. The OPEC representative confessed their helplessness regarding increasing oil prices. The Oil Minister of The United Arab Emirates Mohammed Al Hamli said: "There is nothing that we can do. Markets determine the prices."

On the other hand observers noted that the huge oil exporters who are not the members of the cartel and do not provide sufficient support for OPEC and also cause the price increase. OPEC had asked oil exporters like Russia, Mexico, and Norway, which remain outside the cartel to increase oil production inline with their increase. The third largest oil exporter in the world, Norway, replied to this demand saying that it has a very limited capacity to increase oil production.

Meanwhile Head of International Monetary Fund (IMF) Rodrigo Rato said that the increase in the crude oil, the increase of the rate of the inflation and the current account deficit constitute risks to the development of the world economy. On the other hand it is reported that Russia predicted the price per barrel of oil at $34 in its 2006 budget.