MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

OPEC leaves production level unchanged.

The Organization of Oil Producing and Export Countries, OPEC meeting in Vienna Sunday agreed to keep oil output levels unchanged at 27 million barrels per day in spite of a 40% increase in crude prices during the last twelve months.

After several production increases in 2004 following record oil barrel prices, Opec last December cut output by one million bpd with the purpose of ensuring market stability.

Last year supply disruptions and soaring demand from the US and China caused prices to balloon to their current level in the range of 45 US dollars.

During the meeting Opec ministers also agreed to suspend its target price band of 22 to 28 US dollars pb, which was set in 2000.

"We have to wait until the second quarter of this year to know exactly where the price indicator will head", said Opec president and Kuwait Energy Minister Sheikh Ahmad Fahd al-Sabah.

However some of the eleven ministers from Opec, which accounts for some 40% of world oil production indicated that prices were too high to justify production cuts, despite concerns over a possible build in supplies during the seasonally weak second quarter of the year.

Anyhow consultations may take place before the group's next meeting in March to coordinate a cut if needed.

"We think the high price will not affect the global economy", said Sheikh Ahmad reflecting the opinion that the weakening of the US dollar has protected non dollar importers from the rise in dollar denominated prices.

Opec members, who regularly appeal to quota-busting, now seem prepared to defend higher oil prices