Seeking to cool market sentiment, the head of Opec on Sunday said the organisation is concerned about stubbornly high prices that defy what he described as a well-supplied market and adequate crude stocks worldwide

Seeking to cool market sentiment, the head of Opec on Sunday said the organisation is concerned about stubbornly high prices that defy what he described as a well-supplied market and adequate crude stocks worldwide. The statement by Sheik Ahmad Fahad Al Ahmad Al Sabah, Opec's president and secretary-general, was issued in a clear attempt to dampen speculative buying that last week briefly drove prices above US$55 a barrel before they settled in the still historically high lower US$50s. More bullish oil was poured on the fire on Saturday, when Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Opec countries could fix a price for crude in a range of US$40 to US$50 per barrel, adding that low petroleum prices were a thing of the past. At a crucial Opec meeting in Iran on March 16, some analysts are expecting the cartel to cut production to boost oil prices, which have skyrocketed over the past year on supply worries. Al Sabah, in contrast, suggested present prices were too high, considering market fundamentals. "Increased investment in commodities by speculators has caused further sizable upward pressure on prices,'' said the statement, issued by Opec headquarters in the Austrian capital. Other factors for the surge included the late cold snap in the Northern Hemisphere; unexpected outages downstream at wells and port facilities; expectations of continued strong demand, "and ongoing concerns about the slowdown in the pace of growth'' by non-Opec suppliers, he said.