Crude oil prices topped $54 a barrel on Thursday as the first storm of the Caribbean hurricane season headed for oil fields in the Gulf of Mexico.

　　The price of oil markets' benchmark crudes rose more than $1 on Thursday.Raising oil output will be on the agenda at next week's meeting of the Organisation of Oil Producing Nations （Opec）， the cartel's president said.

　　Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahd al-Sabah said Opec members were interested in seeing oil prices did not damage global growth.“Any number （that） will make （for） the continuing growth of the economy of the world” would suit Opec， said Sheikh Ahmad at the first joint Opec-EU meeting on stabilising energy prices in Brussels.

　　But Opec members are already pumping flat out and exceeding the cartel's output quotas， so oil analysts see little chance of substantial increases in production.US light crude was at $54.20 a barrel in late afternoon trade in New York， up $1.66， while Brent crude rose $1.67 to $53.78.

　　US Energy Secretary Sam Bodman has urged Opec to consider raising its output quotas at its Vienna meeting on 15 June.“We would encourage increases in production to the extent that it's possible，” he said on Thursday.