The president of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is calling for it to raise its production limit after Hurricane Katrina briefly pushed crude prices to more than $70 a barrel.
Sheikh Ahmad Fahad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, who is also Kuwait's energy minister, says OPEC should increase its limit by half a million barrels, to 28.5 million barrels a day.
OPEC ministers meet for two days in Vienna starting Monday to discuss the proposal. Venezuela's Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez says his country will not oppose the increase. But he added it will have little effect on the market, where there a surplus of crude and a lack of refined oil products. Hurricane Katrina damaged several key U.S. refineries along the U.S. Gulf Coast.
Some information for this story provided by AP and AFP.
