Saudi ready to pump more, unlikely to calm price

By Simon Webb and Barbara Lewis

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - Top exporter Saudi Arabia is ready to pump more oil for the rest of the year, although that is unlikely to tame record prices, Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said on Sunday.

"I am convinced that the supply and demand balances and crude oil production levels are not the primary drivers of the current market situation and that markets are already well-supplied," Naimi said in a speech.

"But ... I also strongly believe that each of us must do what we can to alleviate these difficult conditions".

Saudi Arabia has already said it will produce 9.7 million bpd in July, marking an increase in output of 550,000 bpd since May.

Naimi said the kingdom would pump at or above that level for the rest of the year if there was demand from its customers.

"For the remainder of this year, Saudi Arabia is prepared and willing to produce additional barrels of crude oil above and beyond the 9.7 million barrels per day which we plan to produce during the month of July," Naimi told a meeting of producer and consumer countries in Jeddah.

Saudi Arabia called the unprecedented meeting in response to record moves on the oil market.

Oil hit a peak of nearly $140 a barrel and rose by almost $11 in a single trading session early this month, a jump Naimi said was driven by factors other than supply and demand.