Energy forum calls for 'transparent' markets

"With regard to energy market volatility, energy markets should be as transparent as possible," said a joint declaration issued by the International Energy Forum at the end of a two-day meeting in the beach resort of Cancun.

It also agreed to strengthen dialogue between leading producers, such as Saudi Arabia and Russia, and key consumers including the United States and China - in a bid to eliminate the risk of excessive price volatility.

Oil prices surged to all-time peaks of above $147 a barrel in July 2008, before the severe global economic downturn saw them crashing to just $32.

They have steadily recovered, trading in recent months mostly between $70 and $80 - a level deemed acceptable by producers and consumers.

However the price of crude surged on Wednesday. Front-month crude futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange traded up $1.15 at $83.52 a barrel at 1:45 p.m. EDT (1745 GMT), not far off the $83.76 peak hit earlier.

That intraday high was near the year's high of $83.95 hit on Jan. 11, which was the highest since October 2008.

Brent crude for May rose $1.12 to $82.40.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries - whose member nations together pump 40 percent of the world's oil - blames speculators for pushing crude futures to record highs nearly two years ago.

As well as OPEC and non-OPEC producers, the IEF had been attended by the International Energy Agency, a body representing consumers as the energy-monitoring arm of the OECD grouping of the world's 30 leading industrialized nations.

IEA head Nobuo Tanaka told AFP in Cancun that while speculators played a role in creating excessive oil price volatility, major energy consumers such as China did not help matters by failing to provide transparent data on their oil stockpiles.

The biennial IEF began the process of improving inventory and energy demand data in 2001 with the launch of the Joint Oil Data Initiative (JODI), whose member organizations include OPEC, the IEA and Asia-Pacific's top economic club APEC.

Opening the 12th IEF forum on Tuesday, Mexico's Energy Secretary Georgina Kessel called for "a fruitful dialogue between consumers and producers" on the key issues affecting the sector, which also include future investment; Kazinform cites the Arab News.

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