By The Associated Press
TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's oil minister has predicted the price of oil will rise to $200 per barrel in the near future.
Oil prices jumped to a record near $124 a barrel for the first time this week.
IRNA news agency quotes minister Gholam Hossein Nozari as saying the time when the price of oil is $200 a barrel is not far.
He attributed the rise in oil so far partly to difficulties in production in Nigeria and said it was also the result of the dollar's weakening against other currencies.
Nozari says that oil has not been expensive, but the dollar has been weak.
Iran is OPEC's second-largest producer.
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