Oil Consumers Wary as Some OPEC Members Target $100 Before Cairo Meeting

Japan’s economy minister said today the government needs to keep an eye on climbing prices while the deputy governor of the Chinese central bank said inflation pressures are rising.

Shokri Ghanem, chairman of Libya’s National Oil Corp., was the latest OPEC official to forecast $100. Iran and Venezuela have also said that represents a fair price while Saudi Arabia, the group’s biggest exporter, said it prefers prices centered on $75, a level that oil has traded above since September.

“An issue for OPEC will obviously be prices edging higher,” said Bill Farren-Price, chief executive officer of Winchester, U.K.-based consultants Petroleum Policy Intelligence. “The issue is whether we’re in a new rally and for now the jury’s out on that. And I don’t think anyone in OPEC would disagree with that.”