London • The International Energy Agency (IEA) made a direct appeal to OPEC and other major oil producers to boost output, warning that prices are inflicting damage on the global economy.

“We should all see the risky situation, the oil markets are entering the red zone,” IEA ED Fatih Birol said in an interview yesterday. “Expensive energy is back at a bad time, when the global economy is losing momentum. We really need more oil.”

Oil prices rallied to a four-year high above US$85 (RM353.36) a barrel in London earlier this month on concern that US sanctions on Iranian crude, along with chronic supply losses in Venezuela, could lead to a shortage. Traders are also worried that Saudi Arabia, the biggest member of OPEC, isn’t acting quickly enough — or may lack the capacity — to fill any shortfall.

Prices were boosted further yesterday by Hurricane Michael, which shut some oil fields in the Gulf of Mexico and threatened to hit the Florida panhandle.

Emerging economies, most notably India, are bearing the brunt of the increase in energy prices, which comes when they’re already contending with currency depreciation and the fall-out from trade disputes, Birol said. With the drop in the rupee, Indian consumers are effectively paying as if oil were US$100 a barrel.

“If there are no major moves from the key producers, the fourth quarter of this year is very, very challenging,” Birol said. “Demand is still very strong and we’ve been losing oil from Venezuela in big amounts, and also Iran is going down.”

Venezuela’s oil production is in “free-fall” as an economic crisis takes its toll on infrastructure and workers, and could slump below one million barrels a day “very soon”, Birol said.

Iran’s exports have dropped faster than most in the industry expected, with many major buyers halting purchases even before US sanctions are enforced in November. To fill that gap and cool the price rally, Saudi Arabia has bolstered production to near record levels, pumping 10.7 million barrels of crude a day.

The Saudis are able to increase further and reach 11 million a day, Birol said, adding that he’s fully confident the kingdom will act responsibly.

The IEA isn’t currently considering the use of its emergency oil reserves, he added.

“We should try to comfort the markets all together,” Birol said. “It may be bad news for the consumers, importers today, but I believe it may well be bad news for the producers tomorrow.” — Bloomberg