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To: pat mudge who wrote (2786)	11/23/2000 6:58:23 AM
From: zbyslaw owczarczyk	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 3891

OPEC to hit oil gamblers Report: Oil cartel boss warns that oil speculators must be curbed November 23, 2000: 6:00 a.m. ET MADRID (Reuters) - OPEC is considering measures to limit the impact of speculative oil buying which it believes has added up to $8 to the price of a barrel of crude, the cartel's president told a newspaper Thursday. "We are analyzing the situation provoked by this practice and very soon we will propose new mechanisms to correct the very high levels of speculation although, I insist, I do not believe we can eliminate it altogether," Venezuela's Ali Rodriguez told Spanish financial daily Expansión. He did not elaborate. Rodriguez said it was "absurd" that benchmark crudes West Texas Intermediate, Brent and Dubai sold a million barrels between them per day but were indicators for world prices. "OPEC itself, which is placing 22 million export barrels daily, suffers from this phenomenon and is affected by output or volumes that are totally marginal in the global market," Rodriguez told the newspaper. Rodriguez said: "In these markets there are days when 150 million barrels have been sold. That doubles daily demand for oil in the whole world." "Speculation, which alters the price of a barrel by between $4 and $8, is a reality in the capitalist world in which we live. But you can't get rid of it, only moderate it." Rodriguez, bowing out as Venezuela's oil minister and due to swap the rotating presidency of OPEC for the post of cartel secretary general in January, said tackling speculation would be one of his priorities. He said refining capacity, a lack of reliable information on stocks levels, transportation costs and high taxation levels were also affecting oil prices. Rodriguez also said OPEC was ready to cut or increase production if prices swung by too much, but added the cartel believed there was now an oversupply of around 1.4 million barrels daily on markets