Global oil supply, demand 'equilibrium': Iraq

BAGHDAD: Indications for global oil supply and demand are currently "good", but market prices are varying due to the region's political outlook, Iraq's Oil Minister Abdul-Kareem Luaibi said on Sunday.

OPEC oil ministers meet on June 8 in Vienna to decide output policy. Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister Hussain al-Shahristani, who handles oil matters, said on Saturday that Iraq supports an OPEC output hike if needed to meet rising global demand.

"We are closely observing supply and demand and up to now indications show that both supply and demand of crude are good," Luaibi said.

"But the problem is prices are fluctuating as a result of the political situation in the region."

An OPEC advisory group on Friday agreed that the oil exporters' group should raise its production to meet higher second-half demand, but delegates appear split over whether there is a need to hike output targets.

Copyright Reuters, 2011