Saudi Arabia's oil minister said Sunday he thought Opec would “most probably” leave its production unchanged when it meets on Monday and was in relaxed mood about a possible dip in second quarter demand.

He suggested there was no need for Opec to continue offering up all of its available crude oil to the market. Opec made that offer in September to cool record oil prices, but buyers have shown little interest in taking the mainly Saudi crude.

“Most probably there is no need to do anything to ceiling or

the level of production,” Ali al-Naimi told reporters.

“We will do our best to maintain reliable and secure supplies to the market. I have always maintained that prices are determined by the market.”

He showed little enthusiasm for renewing Opec's offer to make available all of its two million barrels per day of spare production capacity.

Analysts say such a move would make little difference to buyers who have been reluctant to take in the mostly heavy, sour crude that is difficult to turn into light transport fuels.