OPEC on Tuesday prepared to keep oil output limits unchanged, high prices postponing the need to tighten the taps until later this year.
Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said a committee of three member countries, meeting on the eve of yesterday's Qatar conference, had agreed to recommend supply be held steady.
"From now until September at least," Kuwaiti Oil Minister Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahd al-Sabah, also on the committee, said of his country's preference.
The recommendation quelled any lingering doubts about whether or not producers might pull a surprise and cut back now to pave the way for Iraq's imminent return to world markets.
Oil prices were steady, US closing down US$0.02 at US$31.71 a barrel.
"Right now the market is balanced, stocks are low especially in the US, and demand will rise in the next quarter so I'm not expecting any dramatic decisions," said Ali Rodriguez, head of state Venezuelan oil company PDVSA.
Fretting about a surplus as Iraqi exports gradually rebuild, others in OPEC fear strong prices could quickly evaporate.
"We are concerned because prices are high not because of a lack of oil, they are high because of uncertainty," said Algerian Oil Minister Chakib Khelil.
"I think we have oversupply and the current situation in the market is caused by political tensions, not fundamentals," said Iran's Zanganeh.
Talk of an immediate cut, though, has been set aside because prices are near the top end of OPEC's US $22 to US$28 target range.
Instead, ritual calls will be made for full compliance with allocations under existing quotas. Latest estimates put output more than a million barrels daily in excess of official limits of 25.4 million bpd.
Cartel members also are set to serve notice on independent producers for help when cuts are next needed to defend prices.
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