CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Venezuela's top oil official says there is no need for OPEC to hold a special meeting to try to tame oil prices, saying prices are high in part due to the Libya conflict.
Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez says Venezuela doesn't agree with convening a special meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to address the issue. Oil prices settled on Friday at $112.79 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Ramirez said on Saturday that "what should cease is the violence" in Libya. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has criticized the intervention by U.S. and European forces in Libya.
Ramirez said "the international market can't ask for stability" when foreign powers are contributing to the region's destabilization.