OPEC ministers gather

By Alex Lawler and Summer Said

VIENNA (Reuters) - OPEC ministers on Monday gathered in Vienna ahead of a meeting to review output policy, but were widely expected to leave formal targets unchanged, especially as a powerful hurricane could lift oil prices.

The oil market touched a five-month low just above $105 on Friday, under pressure from economic weakness and lower fuel consumption.

It recovered to above $107 a barrel on Monday as traders weighed the risk Hurricane Ike could crash into energy installations in the Gulf of Mexico after sweeping through Cuba.

"We don't think there is a requirement to decrease production," Kuwaiti Oil Minister Mohammad Olaim told reporters in Kuwait before leaving for Vienna.

"If the market requires anything to do, we will," he added.

A hard core of ministers has said the market was over-supplied following months of over-production led by top exporter Saudi Arabia and output would have to be cut sooner or later to bolster prices. The market has plunged by nearly 30 percent from a record above $147 a barrel hit in July.

"Of course, of course. I believe that the market is over-supplied," Iranian Oil Minister Gholamhossein Nozari told reporters on arrival in Vienna early on Monday.

Iran, together with Venezuela, which also has a big-spending, populist government, has been at the forefront of those seeking a high price.