02-06-06

Venezuela has backed a proposal to sell oil in euros instead of dollars, Energy and Mines Minister Rafael Ramirez said.
The remarks came ahead of a meeting of OPEC in Venezuela's capital on the same day.

Ramirez, who is also the president of the state oil company PdVSA, said "If a market in euro is created, with the euro as a reference, we could send our supplies so they are sold under this (currency)."
Responding to Ramirez's remarks, Edmund Daukoru, president of OPEC, said some member countries had raised the possibility but added that they had not formally tabled the proposal to the block.