OPEC says to raise output if oil at $100

By Henrique Almeida

LUANDA (Reuters) - OPEC ministers will raise output to protect the global economic recovery at a meeting in December if oil prices rise to $100 per barrel, the group's president said on Sunday.

Jose Botelho de Vasconcelos, who is also Angola's oil minister, said that both producers and consumers were comfortable with oil prices at between $75 and $80 per barrel and that higher prices could put a brake on the global economy.

"I think that a balanced price is always better," Botelho de Vasconcelos said before boarding a flight to Brazil late on Sunday.

"You know that, if necessary, some countries are open to injecting more oil into the market and that will be done."

Asked if a rise in oil prices to $100 per barrel would inevitably prompt OPEC to raise production at its December 22 meeting in Luanda, Botelho de Vasconcelos replied: "I believe so. We need to maintain the balance."

OPEC, which controls about a third of the world's oil production, has been holding down output since September 2008 as the financial crisis hit demand and pressured prices.

FUNDAMENTALS

Before increasing output, OPEC will first have to ensure that oil market fundamentals, in terms of supply and demand, are balanced, said Botelho de Vasconcelos, adding that oil stocks remained high while the dollar was weak.