Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali Naimi has broken his silence in an attempt to set the record straight on wild speculation that has swirled in the oil market since prices began their slide toward four-year lows.

The kingdom is not engaged in a price war nor is it colluding against rival producers, the Saudi oil minister says. But his remarks at a gas conference in Mexico did little to calm the oil market, which is still trying to guess whether the kingdom intends to press for a production cut at the next OPEC meeting on 27 November. (CONTINUED - 1785 WORDS)