Saudi oil production near record high in April, says minister

Seoul

OIL Minister Ali Al-Naimi says Saudi Arabia is producing near record levels of crude in April, underscoring the kingdom's willingness to defend market share at a time when oil markets have staged a fragile recovery.

There are worries among some producers that growing output from Saudi Arabia and other members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) could snuff out a recent rebound in oil prices, particularly with economic growth in key consumer China the slowest in six years in the first quarter.