ROME: Oil prices, which topped a record $117 per barrel last week, are unlikely to fall back below $90, the Venezulan oil minister Rafael Ramirez said on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum here on Monday, reports Economic Times .

We believe that prices will remain around this level, at least around 90 dollars, Ramirez told reporters.

Oil prices can't fall much further because production costs have increased, he said.

Iraqi oil minister Hussain Al Shahristani told reporters as he entered the meeting that an increase in production by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) would not bring the relief the market was calling for, since prices were being driven primarily by speculation.

Iraq OPEC