DUBAI: Core OPEC oil producers in the Gulf would ignore Iran’s call for Muslim countries to cut supplies to supporters of Israel in response to the Israeli offensive in Gaza, an OPEC source said yesterday. “There are no plans to do this and I think it is very unlikely,” the source told Reuters.
An Iranian military commander on Sunday said Muslim countries could use oil to put pressure on Israel’s Western backers. Iran is the world’s fourth-largest oil producer and a leading member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Light, sweet crude for February delivery rose 92 cents to $47.26 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after jumping $1.74 on Friday to settle at $46.34. In London, February Brent crude rose 50 cents to $47.41 a barrel.
There were no plans for OPEC to hold an extraordinary meeting before the next scheduled gathering in March, the OPEC source said. A senior Iranian official said Saturday that OPEC could meet in February. Algeria’s Energy and Mines Minister Chakib Khelil has also said the group could hold a meeting before March.
