Saudi's oil minister confident market will recover as prices boost demand

Abu Dhabi

SAUDI Arabia's oil minister on Sunday defended Opec's decision to keep output steady despite the biggest market slump in years, saying current prices would help global economic growth and petroleum demand, while Arab states would escape major damage.

Ali al-Naimi blamed a price slide to levels half of those six months earlier on speculators and what he called a lack of cooperation by major producers from outside of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec), misleading information and speculators' greed.