Iran Sets Price Ceiling for Oil at $55 per Barrel

Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh believes that oil prices should not exceed $55 per barrel, according to an interview with Iran's Shana news agency. He emphasized that this price point is adequate for producers and that higher prices would not be beneficial to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). In fact, he warned that if oil prices surge above $60 per barrel, non-OPEC producers would increase their production to benefit from rising prices.

Last December, OPEC clinched a historic deal with Russia and other non-members to slash global production by nearly 1.8 million barrels a day for six months starting January. Iran was exempted from cutting output, allowing the country to increase its crude production by 90,000 barrels per day to reach pre-sanction output levels of 4 million barrels per day.

OPEC and non-OPEC ministers are due to meet on May 25 to discuss the possibility of extending their agreement to limit supplies beyond June. According to three OPEC delegates, there is a likelihood that they will extend their agreement to help clear a glut in the market.