Call on Opec not to force up price of oil

Energy minister Mike O'Brien today called on Opec, the Saudi-led cartel of oil producers, not to engineer a new spike in the oil price.

Speaking at Opec's conference in Vienna, O'Brien said the cartel was right not to cut production at the weekend but called on it to continue co-operating with the rest of the energy consuming world.

"A cut [in production] that led to an increase in prices... would be bad news for the recovery of the global economy, and bad news for consumers and business in Britain," O'Brien told Opec delegates.

He added: "We must avoid a future price spike. We do not want high oil prices having a detrimental impact on a recovering economy."

Meanwhile, oil prices rose last night, with London Brent up 74 cents a barrel at $48.40.

O'Brien said he hoped the G20 summit in London next month will address the need for leading countries to take co-ordinated and sustainable action on new energy technologies.