Tehran, 5 July 2010

Surplus OPEC capacity is keeping the price of crude down, but oil prices are likely to rise to $80 by the end of the year, Iran's OPEC governor Mohammad Ali Khatibi said on Sunday, according to news agency reports. "The average price of OPEC basket crude oil from the beginning of 2010 to now is $76.6, but it is predicted that it will reach $80 by the end of 2010," he was quoted as saying by the students' news agency ISNA.

"Right now, because of the economic crisis, OPEC is facing a 4-6 million-barrel surplus capacity," Khatibi said, according to the Iranian oil ministry website SHANA. "This will be having a psychological effect on the oil price." Oil fell for a fifth straight day on Friday amid investor anxiety about the global economic recovery.

U.S. crude's benchmark front-month contract was down 81 cents, or 1.1 percent, at $72.14 a barrel. On a weekly basis, oil prices were down about 9 percent.

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