President Hugo Chavez on Friday called $100 a fair price for a barrel of oil

President Hugo Chavez on Friday called $100 a fair price for a barrel of oil, and said Venezuela and other OPEC-member nations will try to prevent the price from dropping below that level. Venezuela is one of the leading price hawks within the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, consistently arguing in favour of production cuts at the group's meetings. Oil prices have floated around $100 in recent days. Light, sweet crude for April delivery rose 49 cents to $98.72 a barrel but alternated between gains and losses.