Algeria worried OPEC compliance slipping

Algeria’s oil minister on Sunday warned OPEC members’ compliance to quotas slipped in April and stood at less than 80 percent and said the producer group was unlikely to cut output at its May 28 meeting.

• Chakib Khelil also told Reuters he was worried about high inventories, which he predicted would begin falling as early as this summer, and forecast oil prices rising to $70 per barrel by end-2010 if the economy improves.

  He said the recent rise in prices was not tied to fundamentals but was driven by speculators and a weak dollar.