CAIRO - The global economy can withstand an oil price of $100 a barrel, Kuwait's oil minister said Saturday, as other exporters, meeting in Cairo, indicated global production was unlikely to rise in 2011 because the market was well supplied. Analysts have said oil producing countries are likely to raise output after crude rallied more than 30 per cent from a low in May because they fear prices could once again damage economic growth in fuel importing countries. But Arab oil exporters meeting in Cairo Saturday said they saw no need to supply more crude as stocks were high and prices had been inflated temporarily by cold weather in Europe. Analysts say oil could continue to rally in 2011 as confidence about the global economic recovery picks up and inventories fall. For now, said United Arab Emirates Oil Minister Mohamed al-Hamli, the inventory level "is quite high. It's the highest over the five years average... The market is well supplied". Egypt's Minister of Oil Sameh Fahmi said the current increase in oil prices was the result of higher demand on heating fuel because of the cold weather in Europe. Asked by Reuters if the world economy could stand a $100 oil price, Kuwaiti Oil Minister Sheikh Ahmad al-Abdullah al-Sabah said: "Yes it can". Iraq's new oil minister and the head of Libya's National Oil Corporation both told Reuters that $100 was a fair price, while Qatar's Minister Abdullah al-Attiyah said he did not expect OPEC to increase output in 2011. "I do not expect an OPEC meeting before June because oil prices are stable," he said. Some ministers even called for exporters to comply better with agreed production limits. OPEC members' compliance with promised cutbacks reached 56 per cent in November, according to Reuters estimates.
