(Reuters) – Iraq’s oil minister said on Monday that he expects oil prices to reach over $75.
Ihsan Abdul-Jabbar added in a televised interview with state TV, that OPEC is trying to “control the energy market, in a positive way” that maintains the interests of all parties, consumers and producers.
Abdul-Jabbar also said that current oil prices are unfitting for producers and that he expects them to return to a stable level in the coming months.
Oil climbed more than 4% on Monday on hopes that the Omicron variant of the coronavirus will have a less damaging economic impact if its symptoms prove to be mostly mild and as the prospect of an imminent rise in Iranian oil exports receded.
Brent crude rose $3.20 to settle at $73.08 a barrel. U.S. crude settled up $3.23 at $69.49 a barrel.
Despite signs of a drop in consumption, OPEC stuck to its existing policy of increasing oil supply on a monthly basis because it aims at offering stable oil supplies and because it believes that the drop is unreal and that the market should witness a recovery, Abdul-Jabbar said.
OPEC+, which consists of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia, agreed to stick to the plan of boosting output by 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) per month, despite fears a release from U.S. crude reserves and Omicron would put renewed pressure on prices.
(Reporting by Nayera Abdallah and Moataz Abdel Rahiem; editing by Grant McCool)
