Current crude prices ‘reasonable’: Algeria

Algeria’s Oil Minister Youcef Yousfi said current oil prices are fair for buyers and producers and that price fluctuations “do not harm” exporters of crude, speaking on national radio’s Channel 1.

“Prices now are reasonable and suitable for us as exporters and for consumers, even those who are going through economic and financial problems,” Yousfi told the radio in an interview broadcast on Thursday.

Oil for October delivery rose 44 cents, or 0.5 per cent, to $89.78 a barrel at 9:46am local time on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for October gained 30 cents to $116.10 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe Exchange.

Yousfi said he expects the North African country’s income from oil and gas to increase 20 per cent this year. Algeria, a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, pumped 1.26 million barrels a day of crude in August, according to Bloomberg data.