Crude oil prices declined Monday in New York after OPEC's president - who is also Kuwait's oil minister, Sheik Ahmed Fahd Al Ahmed Al Sabah - said the market is "well supplied."
Current production is expected to remain steady when the cartel meets next week in Iran to decide whether to cut, maintain or raise oil production.
Some analysts have said OPEC might cut production to boost prices. But Venezuela's oil minister (Raphael Ramirez) says there is consensus within OPEC to keep current prices stable. Venezuela produces more than three million barrels of crude oil a day and is the world's fifth-largest oil exporter.
U.S. crude prices held above $53 a barrel on Monday, after rising more than 18 percent in the last month. Prices have climbed due to cold weather, refinery outages, strong demand and speculator activity.
Some information for this report provided by AP, Reuters.