Saudi minister: 2011 oil demand to grow 1.8M barrels a day

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia's oil minister said he expects global oil demand to climb as much as 1.8 million barrels per day this year. Ali Naimi said on Monday the growth would be largely driven by China and India, while US demand would climb slightly. Naimi spoke at a conference in the Saudi capital. He also says he expects prices to remain stable this year. The benchmark US crude oil contract was hovering at slightly above $89 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, of which Saudi Arabia is the lead member, opted to hold its output quotas unchanged during its December meeting, leaving its official production range unchanged for the past two years. — AP