Global oil prices are being driven to record-high levels by speculative traders, not a shortfall in global oil stores or a crisis among oil producers, Qatar's energy minister said Wednesday. Energy and Industry Minister Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah, who was meeting with Japanese officials in Tokyo, vowed that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries would do all it could to meet demand for oil in the global marketplace, though OPEC output _ at more than 30 million barrels a day _ was already near capacity. "There is no shortage, no crisis in the global oil supply," al-Attiyah told reporters. He said OPEC oil production was at its highest rate in a quarter century. Oil prices surged Wednesday on the New York Mercantile Exchange's Access electronic trading market, with the November Nymex crude oil futures contract briefly rising 37 cents to a record-high US$51.48, before retreating. Traders pointed to worries about a possible decline in U.S. oil output from facilities in the Gulf of Mexico that had been damaged by a powerful hurricane two weeks ago. Al-Attiyah blamed the recent surge in prices on speculative buying of oil futures by hedge funds and other investors. He also cited insufficient refining capacity in the United States to meet the country's own needs. Ravenous oil consumption by China's rapidly growing economy had been met by OPEC's recent output increases, al-Attiyah said. Although OPEC recently asked Russia and Oman to boost production, "they are also producing oil at full capacity," he said.
