OPEC's Rodriguez Says Oil Could Reach $40 a Barrel

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/14 11:04 OPEC's Rodriguez Says Oil Could Reach $40 a Barrel This Winter By Alex Kennedy and Peter Wilson

Caracas, Sept. 14 (Bloomberg) -- OPEC President Ali Rodriguez said oil prices could soar to $40 a barrel this winter as speculators pressure demand.

Rodriguez, who doubles as Venezuela's energy minister, said world oil prices could also be pressured by restricted supplies because refining capacity has lagged. He said taxes levied by consuming countries also contributed to sending prices higher.

``If oil reaches $40 a barrel, it would only be temporary,'' Rodriguez said at a news conference.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries earlier announced it would boost output quotas by 800,000 barrels over its current ceiling of 25.4 million barrels a day, in order to lower prices that have rallied 37 percent to a 10-year high and threatened world economic growth.

Crude oil for October delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 62 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $33.20 a barrel.

http://quote.bloomberg.com/fgcgi.cgi?ptitle=Bloomberg%20Energy&touch=1&T=energy_news_front.ht&s=AOcDpBxSsT1BFQydz

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), September 14, 2000


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