Qatar says OPEC can do nothing about high oil price
Mon Apr 17, 2006 3:48 AM ET
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DOHA (Reuters) - Oil prices are too high and OPEC can do nothing to cool them, Qatari Oil Minister Abdullah al-Attiyah said on Monday.
"I think oil prices are too high but there is nothing we can do," he told Reuters on the sidelines of the Qatar Economic Forum.
Asked if high prices were harming the global economy, he said: "When they get above $60 I start to worry."
Oil leapt to $70 a barrel for the first time in seven and a half months on Monday, extending strong gains made last week as tension mounted between Iran and the West over Tehran's nuclear ambitions.
Asked if Qatar was concerned about supply disruptions from Iran, Attiyah said: "We are confident that nothing will happen with Iran." Iran pumps around 5 percent of the world's oil.
Oil prices have risen more than 20 percent since mid-February, despite sizeable U.S. crude inventories, as geo-political fears compounded fundamental worries that refiners might struggle to make enough gasoline for the summer driving season.
