Dec. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil prices are likely to reach $100 a barrel within six months as global demand exceeds supply, Boone Pickens, chairman of Dallas-based BP Capital LLC, said today.

``You're going to $100,'' he said in an interview in Dallas. ``There's no question about that.''

Crude oil prices rose after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, rejecting calls to increase output, decided to keep its production targets unchanged. Oil was down for the day after an Energy Department report showed that U.S. fuel stockpiles rose.

Futures fell 86 cents, or 1 percent, to $87.46 a barrel at 2:30 p.m. as floor trading ended on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices touched $90.39 in intraday trading.

The OPEC decision ``went the way I thought it would,'' Pickens said, adding that OPEC doesn't have the capacity to continue to raise production.

Global crude demand is about 88 million barrels a day, and supply is around 85 million barrels a day, he said, adding that the only way to affect demand is with higher prices.

Global oil demand this year will average 85.7 million barrels a day, the International Energy Agency said in a report on Nov. 13. The Paris-based agency is an adviser to 26 developed nations.

To contact the reporter on this story: Margot Habiby in Dallas at mhabiby@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: December 5, 2007 14:52 EST