The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries is "satisfied" with current high oil prices and has effectively "suspended" its $25-barrel target, according to a high ranking official for the the oil producers’ cartel.

Hossein Kazempour Ardebili, who is Iran’s Opec representative and a nominee for Secretary General of the organisation, said: "We are satisfied with the current price level and we don’t think we should go back to the price range of 25 dollars a barrel".

"We are all agreed and recognise the suspension of the [official $22 to $28] price band."

Production levels are likely to remain unchanged when the cartel meets next week, he added.

Despite the bullish comments, crude futures eased back in afternoon trade, but remained above $53 a barrel. Light, sweet crude for April delivery fell 45 cents to $53.33 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Exchange.

Meanwhile, in London, Brent crude futures fell 41 cents to $51.39 a barrel.

The tone of the Iranian representative will concern economic policymakers in western countries that rely on oil imports.

The United States Treasury Secretary, John Snow, said over the weekend that rising oil prices were creating "headwinds" for continued economic growth.

While the US economy was "so robust right now that we've blown right through" the recent hike in oil prices, "clearly these energy prices create headwinds," Mr Snow told ABC television.

Mr Ardebili added that ministers from the 11-nation cartel were all but certain to leave production unchanged when they meet on March 16 in the Iranian city of Isfahan.

"The function of increasing the oil production quota is probably not relevant given the fall in demand in the second quarter of the year... it does not make sense to add another million barrels to the supply at least in the short term.

"And if we cut now, this may send the wrong signal to the market," he said.

Yesterday the Opec President, Sheik Ahmed Fahd Al Ahmed Al Sabah, said that Opec producers are concerned by the recent rise in crude, "despite the fact that the market is well-supplied and global crude oil stocks have continued to build, now standing above their five-year average."

Opec was monitoring the market closely and would review the outlook when the group meets in Isfahan, Iran, "to ensure market stability at a reasonable price," he added.

Some analysts are expecting the cartel to cut production to boost prices meets when it meets in Iran on March 16.

Oil prices are roughly 52 percent higher than a year ago, up sharply in recent weeks because of a combination of colder weather, the declining value of the dollar and fears that Opec could rein in production to head off a seasonal drop in demand.

Victor Shum, an oil analyst at Texas-based Purvin & Gertz, said speculative buying by hedge funds has also been driving prices in recent weeks.

"In my view, the market is overly excited," he said. "But this suggests that at some point, there’ll be a sharp downward correction," he told the AFP newswire.

"Prices could fall as fast as they have gone up," he warned.

Meanwhile, the International Petroleum Exchange in London announced that it would close its Brent and gas-oil futures and options trading pits on April 7, switching fully to electronic trading.

The IPE had begun electronic trading of its Brent contract in morning sessions in November.

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