Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says crude prices, hovering close to $US100 a barrel, are still lower than the actual value.
"The pressure on the fossil energy (oil) market is not artificial and the price of this commodity is lower than its actual price," Mr Ahmadinejad said before leaving Tehran for an summit of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Saudi Arabia.
He also said that pricing oil in US dollars was affecting the producing countries.
Oil prices rose back above $US95 on Friday, amid predictions that OPEC will not discuss raising output at its weekend summit and fresh tensions over Iran, which is the cartel's second largest producer.
Backed by fellow US adversary Venezuela, Iran has called for the summit's final declaration to express concerns about the falling US currency and its impact on oil revenues.
But OPEC's secretary-general, Abdalla Salem el-Badri, said later that the dollar would not be mentioned in the final communique.
Fighting climate change
A draft declaration from the OPEC summit says member countries will back the fight against global warming and affirm their commitment to "stable, competitive" oil prices.
The group "shares the international community's concern that climate change is a long-term challenge", an an OPEC delegate told reporters.
OPEC also seeks stability of global energy markets, it says.
Consumer nations feeling the pinch from record oil prices have put pressure on OPEC to pump more oil.
But OPEC ministers say there is little they can do as factors beyond their control are driving the market.
OPEC secretary-general Abdullah al-Badri said this week that OPEC would be willing to play its part in developing carbon capture and storage technology to help reduce emissions from burning fossil fuels.
But the draft statement made no mention of an environmental fund with consumer countries to which OPEC would contribute, an idea floated in forums ahead of the summit, the delegate said.
In the statement, agreed during a closed session of OPEC oil, finance and foreign ministers on Friday, the group also sounded a warning.
"Measures or legislation undermining the spirit of producer-consumer cooperation would jeopardise market stability and energy security," it reads. © 2007 Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Comment and add to the story without registration, but keep the comments meaningful please. Links are not accepted.
