Saudi Arabia is determined to bring down high oil prices and is working with fellow OPEC members toward that goal, Saudi Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali Al-Naimi said Friday in a statement during a visit to Seoul. Brent crude has risen about 13 percent this year. "We are seeing a prolonged period of high oil prices," Naimi said in a statement during a visit to Seoul. "We are not happy about it. (The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) is determined to see a lower price and is working toward that goal." However, oil prices fell Friday, dragged down by prospects of weaker crude demand from China as data showed the country's economy grew at the slowest rate for nearly three years, analysts said. Oil prices fell Friday, dragged down by prospects of weaker crude demand from China as data showed the country's economy grew at the slowest rate for nearly three years, analysts said. New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate crude for delivery in May, dropped 81 cents to finish the session at $102.83 a barrel. Brent North Sea crude for May lost 12 cents to $121.83 a barrel in London. "The weak (Chinese) GDP data has caused prices to retreat almost immediately, along with other commodities," Justin Harper, market strategist at IG Markets Singapore, said. Oil investors are worried about supply disruption due to tensions in the Middle East over Iran's nuclear program, and as tightening US and European sanctions target exports from OPEC's second-largest producer. "Fundamentally the market remains balanced - there is no lack of supply," he said. "Saudi Arabia has invested a great deal to sustain its capacity, and it will use spare production capacity to supply the oil market with any additional required volumes." Saudi Arabia had hiked output to 10 million barrels per day in April, Al-Naimi said. Output of 10 million bpd would be the highest since November, when the Kingdom pumped more than it had done for decades. The minister also said other OPEC producers were raising output, which, along with increased Saudi production, was ensuring that global oil inventories are at full capacity. "The global inventories in Saudi Arabia and around the world are full," he said. "Other OPEC members, such as Libya, Iraq and Angola, have also taken strides toward increasing output." The International Energy Agency said Thursday that the oil market has broken a two-year cycle of tightening supply conditions as demand growth weakens and top exporter Saudi Arabia increases output. The agency, which advises industrialized nations on their energy policies, said increased supply and slowing demand growth might already point to a significant rise in global oil stocks. "Easing first quarter 2012 fundamentals have seen prices recently lose most of the $5 per barrel they gained in March. The muted impact so far is partly because much of this extra supply has been stockpiled on land or at sea," said the IEA. Stubbornly high oil prices could be expected to ease when markets woke up to the shift in trend, it added. Al-Naimi pegged output in March at 9.9 million bpd, when he said Saudi Arabia was prepared to produce at its full capacity of 12.5 million bpd if needed. He identified $100 a barrel as an ideal price for producers and consumers earlier this year. "They do have the capacity to flood the market with extra oil and increase supplies because they are not happy with persistently high oil prices," said Ben Le Brun, a market analyst at OptionsXpress in Sydney.
