Venezuela's Chavez: Oil Could Stabilize At $100 A Barrel

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Friday that oil prices under could stabilize at roughly $100 a barrel. 'You ask me about prices. Oil prices could, under the circumstances, stabilize at $100' a barrel, Chavez said in a live televised appearance during a visit to Brazil. He admitted, however, that 'no one really knows how much (higher) oil prices could go.'
Chavez said the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC, had managed to maintain an oil price band for some time, but the band 'was destroyed by (U.S. President George W.) Bush,' when the U.S. intervened in Iraq. 'If the U.S. leaves (Iraq),' that would help the country increase its oil production, Chavez said. 'Iraq is one of the leading oil producers ... the country is resisting an invasion,' he added.