Venezuela's Chavez says current oil prices are 'fair'
Caracas (Platts)--27May2005
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Thursday he considers the current price for the country's oil, around $40/bbl, "fair" and would seek to keep it at that level or higher. Referring to the latest price of Venezuela's export basket, which he pegged at $40.85/bbl on Wednesday, Chavez said: "That's a fair price. Let's hope it doesn't go any lower than that." Chavez said earlier this month in Brazil that a suitable price range for OPEC oil would be between $40-$60/bbl. Venezuelan exports trade around $6 lower than the OPEC basket and $10 less than the WTI benchmark, which settled Thursday at $51.01/bbl. OPEC oil ministers plan to meet in Vienna on June 15 to discuss output levels. Venezuela under Chavez is a keen price hawk. This story was originally published in Platts Global Alert http://www.globalalert.platts.com
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