JEDDAH, 22 October 2007 — Finance Minister Dr. Ibrahim Al-Assaf yesterday blamed speculators and geopolitical developments for the increasing world oil prices.

“The current increase in the price of petroleum is not the result of any imbalance in real supply and demand but a result of financial speculation and some political and security factors in some countries,” he told Al-Arabiya satellite channel.

Al-Assaf reaffirmed Saudi Arabia’s assurance that there is sufficient oil supply in the world markets. Oil prices rose to record high of $90 a barrel last week in New York trading.

Analysts said earlier that tight supplies, weakening dollar, geopolitical worries, storms, cold weather projections and strong global economic growth were driving oil prices up, further compounded by tensions between Turkey and Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will hold a summit in Riyadh on Nov. 17-18 and is expected to focus not only on energy markets and related issues but also on environmental protection.

Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali Al-Naimi said Saudi Arabia’s hosting of the summit reaffirmed its commitment to oil market stability — serving the interests of both the producing and consuming countries.

Last month OPEC agreed to increase its output by 500,000 barrels per day from Nov. 1 in order to bring down soaring prices. OPEC crude production in September was also higher than the previous month. Total OPEC output rose to 30.62 million bpd from 30.37 million bpd in August as Iraq and Angola also boosted their supplies.

Meanwhile, an Iranian official said yesterday that an increase in OPEC output would not help bring down prices. “In the current conditions and oil market uncertainties, it is unlikely there will be an increase in OPEC production or that it would have an impact on prices,” Reuters news agency quoted Javad Yarjani, head of OPEC affairs at the Iranian Oil Ministry, as saying.

“Price rises are not due to a decrease in oil supply ... rather it is more because of geopolitical issues,” he said.

OPEC chief Abdalla Salem El-Badri said last week that the organization was “concerned” at the recent surge in oil prices and was convinced that the current record high prices were not justified by the fundamentals.

“OPEC is doing all it can and is carefully watching developments in the oil market,” he said.