Saudis eye demand after oil boost

MADRID, Spain (CNN) - Saudi Arabia will increase crude oil production again only if demand rises beyond the extra half-million barrels a day it pledged to start pumping in June, the kingdom's oil minister said Tuesday.

In an interview with CNN, Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said he was troubled by the current high levels of petroleum prices, but added, "We have nothing to do with prices where they are today."

Asked whether Saudi Arabia, OPEC's leading producer, would open its taps to its estimated maximum capacity of 11 million barrels a day, al-Naimi asked rhetorically, "Where is the buyer?"

Saudi officials told CNN later that they stand ready to boost their production if the demand materializes. Orders for August start coming in this week, and those figures might indicate whether that demand exists.