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QUITO, Ecuador — OPEC’s secretary-general blamed market speculators for soaring oil prices Thursday, saying they have stripped his cartel of control over the global cost of fuel.
Abdalla Salem El-Badri, left, said speculation and the weak dollar are responsible for record crude prices.
The rise in oil prices “has nothing to do with OPEC,” El-Badri told reporters during a visit to Ecuador.
OPEC will not boost output or price its oil in euros — which are currently more stable than U.S. dollars — because it is convinced that current supplies are sufficient.
The best way to control prices is to “control speculation,” he said, referring to futures traders who some experts say have bid up the price of oil by a significant amount.
