May 13 (Bloomberg) -- Libya wants crude oil prices to rise further, the top oil official of the North African nation said in a telephone interview.

OPEC, the supplier of 40 percent of the world’s crude, will take into consideration the increase in prices when it meets on May 28 to decide whether a cut in production is needed to support prices, said Shokri Ghanem, chairman of Libya’s National Oil Corp. “There is still an oversupply in the market,” he said.

Crude oil has risen to almost $60 a barrel because of signs of an economic recovery and because “speculators are returning to the oil market,” he said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Maher Chmaytelli in Nicosia at mchmaytelli@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: May 13, 2009 07:56 EDT