Australian PM calls for OPEC to increase output

JAPAN: Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Monday said the world's richest nations must pressure oil-producing countries to increase output to deal with spiralling oil prices.

On a visit to Japan, he said he would speak with his Japanese counterpart Yasuo Fukuda about the need for the Group of Eight rich nations to press the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to boost supply.

"We need a clear statement from the world's major economies to the OPEC producers that they lift their production quota now," Rudd told reporters in the western city of Kyoto.

His remarks came after oil prices on Friday rocketed the most ever in a single day to nearly 139 dollars on concerns over the global economy and supply, although prices eased slightly on Monday.

"There is an imbalance between supply and demand that is putting upwards pressure on oil prices," Rudd said.

"OPEC needs to be pressured to increase supply in order to achieve proper market outcomes," Rudd told reporters in Kyoto.

The Group of Eight's energy ministers on Sunday called for a boost in output. Rudd said that oil prices should be "on top of the agenda" when the G8 holds its summit next month in the northern Japanese resort town of Toyako.

The G8 groups Britain, Canada, Italy, Japan, France, Germany, Russia and the United States.

Kyoto, Monday, AFP