Kuwait says OPEC should maintain output levels

The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries should maintain output at its meeting next month because oil prices are satisfactory, the Kuwaiti oil minister said on Wednesday. Asked if OPEC needs to increase or cut output, Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah al-Sabah said the cartel should maintain output, adding that he hoped prices would remain between 70 and 80 dollars a barrel. Current oil prices are not bad at all, he told reporters, adding that he was optimistic that demand will pick up in the near future. OPEC is due to meet in Vienna on September 9.