Mexico Plans to Boost Oil Exports

Mexico, the world’s No. 8 oil exporter, plans to boost crude oil exports to 1.95 million barrels a day this year, up from the current level of 1.88 million barrels, Energy Minister Felipe Calderon said Tuesday.

The move would take oil exports up to the level fixed by Mexico’s congress for 2004, helping to ease some of the pressure on oil markets as the OPEC oil cartel keeps the world guessing about whether it will increase output at a June 3 meeting.

The increase in exports also will mean more money for the Mexican government, which depends on oil sales for a third of its revenue. Robust oil revenue is bolstering Mexico’s foreign reserves and economic growth but also is stoking inflation.

The U.S. benchmark price of crude oil closed Tuesday at $41.14 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after hitting a record Monday of $41.72 a barrel amid concern that rapid growth in demand for fuel would outpace supplies. U.S. crude oil futures prices are up 41% from a year ago.

Mexico, whose chief customer is the United States, isn’t a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. But Mexico has kept its crude oil exports at about 1.88 million barrels a day since Feb. 1, 2003, under a price-stabilization deal with the cartel.