Oil producers tell G20 they will help avoid price pain-Italy

Oil producers tell G20 they will help avoid price pain-Italy

Oil-producing members of the Group of 20 leading economies said on Saturday they would take measures to avoid a rise in petroleum prices from hurting the world economy, an Italian government official said.

February 26, 2012 11:30 by Reuters

“Oil prices developments are one of the potential risks to the global economy but there is awareness among G20 about this problem,” Italy’s deputy economy minister Vittorio Grilli told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of the Group of 20 leading economies.

“Oil-producing countries are aware of this potential risk and they have said they will act in a way to prevent the risk to materialize.”

The world’s top oil producer, Saudi Arabia, is a member of the G20. Other petroleum exporters in the group include Russia, Canada and Mexico.

Saudi Arabia increased exports sharply in the past week and is offering extra supplies to its biggest customers worldwide in what industry sources said appeared to be a bid to tame runaway crude prices. For a story, click on

Brent crude rose to a nearly 10-month high of $125 a barrel on Friday as financial sanctions on Iran pushed Iranian oil buyers in Europe and Asia to seek supplies from elsewhere. Brent in euros this week hit a record high above 93 euros a barrel. (Reporting by Francesca Landini; Writing by William Schomberg; editing by Todd Eastham)

*image from static.guim.co.uk; image caption: World leaders have their picture taken at the start of the G20 Summit in London including US President Barack Obama, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA