KUWAITI ENERGY MINISTER AND OPEC PRESIDENT, SHEIKH AHMAD AL-FAHAD AL-SABAH AFFIRMED THAT OPEC IS KEEN ON KEEPING THE OIL PRICES ACCEPTABLE TO HELP FURTHER BOOST THE WORLD ECONOMIC GROWTH REMOVE THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CONCERNS IN WORLD MARKET. BEFORE LEAVING HERE WEDNESDAY NIGHT WHERE HE ATTENDED THE OPEC EXTRAORDINARY MEETING, SHEIKH AHMAD TOLD KUNA THAT THE DECISION TAKEN TO HIKE THE CARTEL'S OIL PRODUCTION BY 500,000 BARREL PER DAY (BPD) AS OF JULY 1 AND BEING AUTHORIZED TO PUT INTO EFFECT A SIMILAR INCREASE WHENEVER REQUIRED, REFLECTS THE BELIEF THAT THE CONDITIONS IN THE MARKET HAVE NOT CHANGED SINCE THE ISFAHAN CONFERENCE WHEN THE DECISION WAS TAKEN. THE KUWAITI MINISTER SAID THAT THE DECISION TO RAISE OPEC'S OIL PRODUCTION CEILING TO REACH 28 MILLION BPD IS A MESSAGE TO WORLD MARKETS THAT CARTEL CONTINUES TO SUPPORT THE MARKETS AND STABILIZE THE PRICES, IN ADDITION TO ITS CAPABILITY TO FULFILL WORLD AND MARKET DEMAND UNTIL YEAR END, ESPECIALLY THE LAST QUARTER, WHICH IS A CONCERN TO WORLD OIL MARKETS. --More 1421 Local Time 1121 GMT
