KSA: Oil market already moving in right direction

LOS ANGELES: Khalid Al-Falih, minister of energy, industry and mineral resources, tempered expectations that the world’s major oil producers would look to freeze production next month, telling Reuters that the “market is moving in the right direction” already.

“We don’t believe any significant intervention in the market is necessary other than to allow the forces of supply and demand to do the work for us,” he said in an interview following a speech at the US-Saudi Arabian Business Council in Los Angeles.
Members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will meet on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum, which groups producers and consumers, in Algeria from Sept. 26-28.
Oil rallied last week in part on anticipation of a freeze, but those hopes have waned in the last couple of days.
Speaking publicly for the first time since talk about freezing production surfaced in the last few weeks, Al-Falih said there have not yet been any specific discussions of a production freeze by OPEC, even though world supply remains high.
His comments suggest the chances of a pact are minimal, as he pointed to a market rebalancing and steady demand.
Al-Falih said no specific production level for a freeze has been broached yet. “If there is a consensus that emerges between now and the Algiers meeting, Saudi Arabia as always will be a constructive player in these discussions and we will be willing to participate,” he said.