Business & Money | Wednesday 3 June, 2015 5:22 pm |

Angola's oil minister said on Tuesday that $80 per barrel may be right for crude, joining a chorus of OPEC officials and delegates hoping for a further price recovery in months to come despite a global glut.
"I would like the price (to) go up, but it is not easy," Jose Botelho de Vasconcelos told reporters.
OPEC meets on Friday and is widely expected to maintain its production policy. Last November, OPEC refused to cut output and chose instead to defend market share, adding to the supply surplus arising from booming US oil output.
The decision prompted a crash in oil prices to as low as $46 per barrel in January, although crude has recovered to $65 in recent weeks on hopes of a slowdown in US output growth.
On Monday, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali Al-Naimi said he saw supply thinning and demand improving although he added that it could take time for the markets to rebalance as supply was still seriously exceeding consumption.
OPEC hopes for further price recovery

file-02-1433260272645232300.jpg
Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Ali Al-Naimi speaks with journalists in Vienna. (AFP)
REUTERS
Published — Wednesday 3 June 2015
Last update 2 June 2015 10:15 pm
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VIENNA: Angola's oil minister said on Tuesday that $80 per barrel may be right for crude, joining a chorus of OPEC officials and delegates hoping for a further price recovery in months to come despite a global glut.
"I would like the price (to) go up, but it is not easy," Jose Botelho de Vasconcelos told reporters.
OPEC meets on Friday and is widely expected to maintain its production policy. Last November, OPEC refused to cut output and chose instead to defend market share, adding to the supply surplus arising from booming US oil output.
The decision prompted a crash in oil prices to as low as $46 per barrel in January, although crude has recovered to $65 in recent weeks on hopes of a slowdown in US output growth.
On Monday, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali Al-Naimi said he saw supply thinning and demand improving although he added that it could take time for the markets to rebalance as supply was still seriously exceeding consumption.

Al-Naimi gave no oil price outlook. However, several OPEC officials who asked not to be identified told Reuters they saw crude rising to $70-80 a barrel in coming months and 2016.
In the United States, the upcoming driving season would encourage a further increase in demand, one of the officials said.
The message will please some of the poorer OPEC members who suffered badly from the price crash and a drive by Gulf OPEC countries to embark on a market-share battle with non-OPEC producers.