Iranian Oil Minister Gholam-Hossein Nozari said yesterday that US$100 per barrel is the lowest suitable price for oil, the English-language Press TV satellite channel reported.

"This (crude at US$100 a barrel) is the minimum price for oil," Nozari was quoted as saying, adding "in view of the cold season and rising oil demand, we are moving toward higher and more acceptable prices."

Oil prices have dropped from the record high of US$147.27 a barrel on July 11 to about US$115 a barrel due to an increase in Saudi Arabia's output and a fall in the world's demand for oil.

Despite the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) decided to maintain crude output levels, its member-state Saudi Arabia said in June that it would raise production from 9.45 million barrels per day (bpd) to 9.7 million bpd, the kingdom's highest level since 1981.

OPEC ministers are scheduled to meet in Vienna on Sept. 9 to review the organization's output policy. Ongoing quota violations are also expected to be high on the agenda of the summit.

Iran is the second largest oil producer in the OPEC.