FT.com - Opec lifts output as oil flirts with $100

The Opec oil cartel is quietly increasing its production as oil prices flirt with $100 a barrel, the western countries’ oil watchdog said on Tuesday.

The revelation by the International Energy Agency comes in spite of a string of public comments from Opec countries such as Iran and the United Arab Emirates suggesting that there was no need for more oil and playing down the impact of high oil prices.

The cartel left its official production levels unchanged at a meeting last month in Quito, Ecuador. But the IEA said on Tuesday that Saudi Arabia and other Opec countries were quietly lifting their output in response to higher prices.