Algeria energy minister says OPEC may meet

[July 02, 2012]  ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) -- Algeria's energy minister has raised the possibility of an extraordinary meeting of OPEC countries to discuss falling oil prices.

Youcef Yousfi said Sunday in Algiers that it was agreed at the last OPEC gathering that there would be a meeting "to correct imbalances," if the market reached a certain point. He didn't say what that red line would be.

Benchmark crude had been hovering around $80 per barrel. But on Friday oil soared the most in more than three years after European leaders took surprisingly aggressive steps to halt a debt crisis that has undermined confidence in the global economy. Benchmark U.S. crude ended the week at $84.96 per barrel in New York.

Yousfi said there are 2 million more barrels on the market today than a year ago.

[Associated Press]

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