OPEC Leader Khelil Says Dollar Will Drive Oil to $170

POSTED: Saturday, June 28, 2008
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Chakib Khelil is the president of OPEC and he has predicted that the price of oil will climb to $170 a barrel before the end of the year because of the dollar's decline and political conflicts.

This should have been expected because every single day something causes oil prices to go up and this time they are expected to reach $170 as demand for fuel is growing in the u.S. during the summer period and the dollar continues to weaken against the Euro, according to Khelil. Khelil is not only the leader of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries but he also serves as Algeria's oil minister.

khelil also said that political pressure on Iran and the deprecation of the U.S. currency have cause a surge in oil prices. Oil prices also touched a record price of $142.99 a barrel yesterday on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

OPEC ministers usually say that oil output is sufficient even as Saudi Arabia pledged to pump an extra 200,000 barrels a day next month to calm the market. Venezuelan Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez says that the market is completely supplied and Libya might make possible production cuts because they think that the market is oversupplied.

Khelil spoke today and said that the rising cost of crude is not linked to supply and he says that there is enough oil in the market to meet international demand.

Oil prices are up 38 percent this quarter and they are heading for the biggest quarterly gain since the first three months of 1999, when oil traded between $11 and $17.

Khelil goes on and says that the decisions made by the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank helped the devaluation of the dollar and that pushed up oil prices as well.

Here we go again, ever little excuse there is to use will be used. A few months ago it was because of supply and demand and now it's because of a million other things. This is not going to stop unless people come together and protest by not driving vehicles for awhile.