Opec stands ready to pump more oil to the market as soon as required, Kuwait's Acting Oil Minister Mohammad al-Olaim said on Sunday.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) pumps more than a third of the world's oil and its most influential member Saudi Arabia said on Friday it had boosted output by 300,000 barrels per day.

'If the market requires more, we will not hesitate,' Olaim told Reuters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, when asked to respond to consumer requests for more oil.

But Olaim reiterated that prices were driven by speculation rather than market fundamentals.

'Speculation in the market is the most important thing,' he said. 'The prices keep going up, these are not real prices.'    

US oil hit a record near $128 a barrel on Friday, and have risen six-fold since 2002.

Consuming nations say more oil would help lower the price, while Opec ministers blame factors beyond their control for oil's rise.

There was no talk among Opec ministers of holding an emergency meeting before the next scheduled gathering in September, Olaim said.

Kuwait would support holding an earlier meeting if ministers decided it were necessary, he said.

US President George W Bush said on Saturday that he was pleased with the Saudi decision to boost output but that it was insufficient to solve problems in the world's largest energy consumer.

High oil prices are weighing on a US economy already hit hard by a housing slump and credit crisis. - Reuters