KUWAIT CITY  (AFP) – Kuwait’s Oil Minister Mohammad al-Baseeri said on Monday that world demand for crude oil is forecast to remain high and put pressure on supply even after Libya returns to pre-crisis production.

However World oil prices retreated further on Monday as the dollar strengthened and as enthusiasm waned over last week’s eurozone debt deal, analysts said.

“Libya’s return (to full production) is still very slow and is expected to take time to reach pre-crisis production,” Baseeri told reporters on the sidelines of the Kuwait Financial Forum.

“But regardless of whether Libya’s production returns or not, the world market will continue to need more oil … increasing the burden on main OPEC producers,” he said.

Baseeri said that based on OPEC estimates, world market demand is forecast to grow by between 1.0 and 1.5 million barrels per day “for the rest of this year and the beginning of next year.”

The minister said Kuwait continued to produce 2.9 million bpd in October after reaching this level in the previous month, adding that OPEC’s third largest producer “is capable of sustaining this output level.”

All non-OPEC and most of OPEC producers were pumping at full capacity and “only Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and UAE have spare capacity,” said Baseeri, adding that if they had not raised output, oil prices would have been higher now.

Crude prices turned lower in Asian trade Monday as the market went into profit-taking mode on the back of the strengthening US dollar.

New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in December, slipped 90 cents to $92.42 per barrel.

Brent North Sea crude for December delivery shed 96 cents to $108.95.

Oil prices fall further
World oil prices retreated further on Monday as the dollar strengthened and as enthusiasm waned over last week’s eurozone debt deal, analysts said.

New York’s main oil contract, light sweet crude for delivery in December, slid 83 cents to $92.49 a barrel.

Brent North Sea crude for December dropped 60 cents to $109.31 a barrel in London morning trade.

Crude futures rallied last week after a breakthrough eurozone sovereign debt crisis deal helped ease stubborn concerns that it could spark a new global recession.

They closed lower however on Friday and extended losses Monday as dealers grew sceptical that the debt deal would fully resolve the eurozone’s long-running crisis.

“Higher risk perception against the backdrop of weaker equity markets and the strength of the US dollar are putting some pressure on oil prices,” said Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch.

The European single currency slid to $1.3981 on Monday, making dollar-priced crude more expensive for buyers using the euro and in turn dampening demand for oil.

Traders were looking ahead to a Franco-German meeting on Tuesday, where politicians from the two sides were expected to further discuss the debt rescue plan broadly agreed upon last week, dealers said.

“This meeting could be a key issue,” said Phillip Futures commodity analyst Ker Chung Yang, who added that traders were also eyeing a US Federal Reserve meeting and the US jobs report both due later in the week.