Saudi Arabian king slams oil speculators

ROME (AFP) — Saudi Arabian King Abdullah on Wednesday denounced speculation on oil prices and called for more dialogue between producing and consuming nations in an interview with the Italian daily La Repubblica.

"Oil has become a commodity, pratically like a currency (that) has attracted speculative interest among some companies and people," said Abdullah, whose nation is the world's top oil exporter.

"We don't want the price to be so high. It is not in our interest because it is not in the interest of the rest of the world," he said.

Saudi Arabia has warned repeatedly ...