Current oil market conditions

The Saudi Press Agency (SPA) quoted Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi as saying that the three oil ministers (Algeria, Iran and Saudi Arabia) agreed in talks on "the importance of continuing these cuts and complying with them completely until the end of March 2000 since world stockpiles are still high and have not returned to their normal levels." The three ministers discussed current oil market conditions. The talks came as OPEC President Youssef Yousfi, who is also Algeria_s oil minister, continued his tour of Gulf Arab oil states ahead of a September 22 OPEC ministerial meeting in Vienna. He arrived in Jeddah on Monday after visiting the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.The Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh participated in the Jeddah talks while on a personal visit to Saudi Arabia to perform a Muslim pilgrimage.The flurry of OPEC activity came amid more good news from the world oil market, which has been making strong gains since OPEC and other major world producers agreed in March to impose supply restraints. On Monday, international benchmark Brent hovered close to 32-month highs as reassurances on OPEC supply discipline and buoyant U.S. markets banished profit-takers. Brent for October delivery was up three cents at $23.47 a barrel after touching a 32-month peak of $23.50 on Friday, the highest level seen since January 1997.Throughout his Gulf tour, Yousfi has delivered one message - the supply curbs will remain in place until they expire at the end of March despite higher prices.That position echoed the stand of several key OPEC countries that have been keen to end any speculation that continued higher prices could encourage the group to ease the supply restraints. A supply glut took crude below $10 a barrel in February, but they have since risen strongly on the back of the production curbs.