Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says the oil market is well supplied, and the current high price of oil is artificial.
He spoke during the opening of a meeting for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Fund for International Development Tuesday in the Iranian city of Isfahan.
Mr. Ahmadinejad says the rise in oil consumption is lower than the growth in production. He added that certain powers are controlling the prices in a fake way for political and economic gains.
The Iranian leader says the weakening of the U.S. dollar is one of the major causes of the world's economic problems. He again urged OPEC leaders to adopt a combination of national currencies for oil transactions.
Oil prices have recently hit record highs of nearly $140 a barrel. OPEC says the high prices are caused by the weak dollar, speculators and international political tensions.
Earlier this week, Saudi Arabia announced plans to increase its oil production by 200,000 barrels a day, in an effort to ease soaring world oil prices.
Iran says it would be opposed to any move by Saudi Arabia to raise its oil output without a consensus from OPEC oil ministers.
A major OPEC summit of both oil-producing and oil-consuming nations is scheduled to begin June 22 in Saudi Arabia.
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