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Saudi Arabia Will Probably Cut Oil Supply, Riyadh Banker Says

By Juan Pablo Spinetto and Grant Smith

Sept. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest crude oil exporter, will probably reduce supplies before the next OPEC meeting in December after the group pledged to respect output quotas, a Riyadh-based banker said.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries told its members on Sept. 10 to ``strictly'' comply with production quotas after oil prices fell 30 percent from a record. Prices have since slid another $10 to $92 a barrel in New York. OPEC next meets in Oran, Algeria, on Dec. 17.

``They will continue to reduce production until the December meeting,'' John Sfakianakis, chief economist at Saudi British Bank, said in an interview in London today. The kingdom will likely pump about 9.2 million barrels a day by the next gathering, he said, compared with 9.5 million last month.

Saudi Arabia is ``fine if prices stay around $80-$90 in the next few months,'' Sfakianakis added. ``They will take action if they see continued pressure for prices to fall below $80.''

Saudi Arabia produced 9.5 million barrels a day in August, according to Bloomberg estimates. The country was assigned an official quota of 8.943 million barrels a day in September 2007, which was reaffirmed at OPEC's Vienna meeting last week.

To contact the reporter on this story: Juan Pablo Spinetto in London at jspinetto@bloomberg.netGrant Smith in London at gsmith52@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: September 16, 2008 10:39 EDT

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