The Hindu Business Line : Get used to high oil prices: Saudi King

DUBAI: Blaming energy taxes, speculation and high consumption for soaring oil prices, Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah said both producers and consumers should control these factors to “soften'' the impact on the people.

“Consuming countries should reduce taxes on petroleum products if they really wanted to soften the burden on consumers,'' King Abdullah said in an interview with Kuwait's Assiyassah Arabic newspaper.

The king also asked consumers to get used to rising oil prices as there were very little chances of its going down. “We have nothing to do with the current sharp increase in oil prices. But these are still cheap compared to prices of alternative energy products available,'' the King was quoted as saying.

The King has asked oil producing and consuming countries to find out the real reasons of unprecedented surge in prices which have crossed $140 per barrel and tackle them in a clear and transparent manner.

He said Saudi Arabia has always called for a reasonable price for oil, without causing harm to consumers as well as producers. “We adopted this policy to protect the interest of the whole world,'' he added.

However, the king said he did not believe that an increase in output would stop speculative trade. “Speculators believe that oil prices will remain high and these viewpoints do not concern us as producing countries. We present our products in the world market in accordance with real prices, whether they are high or low,'' he said. - PTI

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