Iran sees no need for emergency OPEC meeting

TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran said on Tuesday there was no need for an emergency meeting of OPEC to discuss record high oil prices, saying that the market was already being well supplied with crude.

"There will not be an emergency meeting because the price hike is not caused by a shortage of crude oil in the market but a shortage of (refined) product," said Iranian Oil Minister Kazem Vaziri Hamaneh, quoted by the semi-official Mehr news agency.

Oil prices have leapt to levels of well above 70 dollars a barrel, partly lifted by tight supplies of petrol in the United States during the peak-demand driving season.

Vaziri Hamaneh, oil minister of the second largest producer in the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the fourth largest in the world, added that "it is predicted that the oil price will reach 80 dollars."

At 10:15 am (0215 GMT) on Tuesday, New York's main contract, light sweet crude for August delivery was four cents higher at 74.19 US dollars a barrel from 74.15 dollars in late US trades on Monday.

Brent North Sea crude for September was two cents higher at 76.31 dollars.

OPEC is due to have its next regular meeting on September 11 at its headquarters in Vienna.