Saudi Arabia defends oil stance

With oil prices continuing to fall, the world's biggest producer, Saudi Arabia, has defended its decision not to bow to pressure for further increases in output.

A Saudi oil ministry spokesman , Ibrahim al-Muhanna, said his country had been right to blame high oil prices earlier this year on speculators and other technical factors, rather than on any shortage of supply.

Crude oil prices fell to below twenty-two dollars a barrel on Friday, about a third below where they were only a few weeks ago.

The BBC Middle East correspondent says some oil-producing countries are now getting nervous, fearing a repeat of the recession caused by the last fall in prices only two years ago.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service