KUWAIT CITY- King Abdullah of OPEC powerhouse Saudi Arabia said in an interview published on Saturday that oil prices of 75 dollars a barrel would be "fair". His comments appeared in a Kuwaiti newspaper on the day OPEC was meeting in Cairo to review the turmoil in the world oil market and decide whether another crude output cut is needed to stop prices tumbling lower. "We think that a fair price of oil is 75 dollars a barrel," the Saudi monarch told As-Sieysah newspaper.

Saudi Arabia Oil Minister Ali al-Nuaimi said on Saturday that OPEC was preparing the ground for a "firm decision" on cutting crude output at its next meeting in December.

"This meeting is a preparatory meeting for a more resolved and firm decision in Algeria," al-Nuaimi said ahead of a consultative meeting of OPEC ministers in Cairo to discuss the state of the market.

Saudi Arabia is the world's top crude oil exporter and by far the most important player in the powerful OPEC cartel that pumps 40 percent of global crude supplies.