March 5 (Bloomberg) -- OPEC, the producer group benefiting from near-record oil prices, agreed to leave output targets unchanged at today's meeting, an official said.

Ministers from the 13-nation Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries are still meeting at their Vienna headquarters, said the OPEC delegate, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The outcome was expected after 10 of the group's members including Iran and Venezuela had earlier said output wouldn't change. Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi, who sets policy in the world's largest exporter, said supply and demand are stable.

``Keeping production the same allows more flexibility for OPEC in the future as they can cut if the price comes down,'' said Johannes Benigni, managing director of Vienna-based JBC Energy. He said prices may slide in coming weeks because of ``reduced gasoline consumption in the U.S.''

Oil rose to a record $103.95 a barrel this week, undermining the case for an output cut to guard against falling demand in the second quarter as the U.S. economy slows and winter heating season ends. The group, which supplies more than 40 percent of the world's oil, may agree to meet again in May or June, ministers said.

The production limit for 12 of OPEC's 13 members is 29.67 million barrels a day. A decision to keep quotas unchanged was expected by 29 of 30 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News last week.

Oil Price

Crude oil for April delivery was trading at $100.32 a barrel, up 80 cents on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 12 p.m. London time, little changed from when OPEC ministers began closed-door discussions two hours earlier. Futures have jumped 67 percent in the past year.

Ministers from Iran and Venezuela altered their stance this week. Prior to the meeting they said the likely drop in oil consumption and the weaker U.S. dollar, which cuts the purchasing power of oil revenue, meant the group should consider cutting production.

``There's no way they can talk about reducing output with prices where they are now,'' analyst John Hall, managing director of John Hall Associates Ltd., said in an interview with Bloomberg Television in Vienna earlier today.

Crude oil prices have rallied 13 percent since OPEC's last meeting on Feb. 1 as investors bought commodities as a hedge against the threat of quickening inflation.

``Everyone's almost unanimous that the current price is being driven by factors other than fundamentals,'' Nigeria's minister of state for petroleum, H. Odein Ajumogobia, said earlier today.

A press conference is expected later today.

To contact the reporter on this story: Julie Ziegler in Vienna at jziegler@bloomberg.netAyesha Daya in Vienna at adaya1@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: March 5, 2008 07:11 EST