LONDON, June 24: Oil prices rose towards $138 on Tuesday, closing in on record highs as Opec’s president rebuffed calls from consuming countries for increased output by the cartel.

New York’s main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for August delivery, jumped 85 cents to $137.59 per barrel in electronic deals.

Brent North Sea crude for August climbed 84 cents to $136.75.

“Opec has already done what Opec can do and prices will not come down,” the cartel’s president Chakib Khelil said on Tuesday as he arrived for a meeting with EU energy officials in Brussels.

Saudi Arabia, the leading member within the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, said at a weekend summit of oil consumers and producers that it was hiking daily output by more than 200,000 barrels to 9.7 million.

The move was expected but the world’s lynchpin crude producer said it could significantly raise output again if necessary.

“Everybody’s waiting to see exactly what Opec can or cannot do,” said David Johnson, an oil analyst with Macquarie Research.

Analysts said oil prices have been underpinned by recent attacks against foreign oil installations in Nigeria and by a weak dollar which makes oil priced in the US unit more attractive for foreign buyers.

Militants blew up a key Chevron supply pipeline over the weekend in the latest attack targeting Nigeria’s oil industry, company and military sources said.

The US oil giant was forced to shut down operations after the attack in the Niger Delta, halting output by 120,000 barrels per day, an industry source said.

The Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell has added that it cannot promise to deliver 225,000 barrels per day for June and July following an unprecedented raid on its offshore Bonga oilfield in Nigeria.

Unrest in the Niger Delta has cut total oil production in one of Africa’s biggest producers by a quarter over the past two years.

“Overall, the market remains well supported, despite Saudi Arabia’s promise to pump more oil,” Sucden analyst Andrey Kryuchenkov said on Tuesday.

“Investors are likely to shift their attention back to the foreign exchange market, with the Fed deciding on its target interest rate tomorrow (Wednesday).—AFP