NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries Secretary General Abdalla Salem El Badri signaled Monday that crude prices in the range of $70-$90 a barrel would be "very reasonable," according to reports. Crude oil futures subtracted $2.55 to $51.88 in electronic trades. OPEC plans to meet in Oran, Algeria on Dec. 17 to take action on a possible production cut. Meeting with reporters in Tehran, El Badri declined to specify the size of the expected curtailment. Badri blamed the "mismanagement of the U.S. economy" for falling oil demand and poor global economic conditions, Dow Jones Newswires reported. "Remember, what happened with the destruction of demand and (with) the world economy has nothing to do with oil. It's something else. It's the mismanagement of the American economy," El Badri said at an energy conference.
