By Brad Foss
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Oil prices fell Tuesday as OPEC's president said supplies were growing faster than demand and traders breathed easier knowing that petroleum production in the Gulf of Mexico did not suffer as a result of Hurricane Frances.

"There's no news to keep prices from falling," said Ed Silliere, vice president of risk management at Energy Merchant in New York, noting that the market has even shrugged off recent pipeline sabotage in Iraq.

Light crude for October delivery dropped 68 cents to settle at $43.31 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

With only a thin margin of spare output capacity worldwide, energy markets have been jittery all summer because of the possibility of output disruptions in Iraq, Russia and Venezuela. But with the exception of sporadic export troubles out of Iraq, the global supply chain has remained intact.

Speaking at the World Energy Congress in Sydney Tuesday, Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries President Purnomo Yusgiantoro said world oil production is running "1.5 million barrels every day above demand, based on our forecasts." Analysts say daily global oil demand is around 82 million barrels.

Yusgiantoro said oil production in the 11 OPEC nations, including Iraq, is 29 million to 30 million barrels a day. OPEC oil ministers are set to meet in Vienna later this month to discuss ways to bring prices down.

Oil prices slid for much of last week despite confusion about the status of Iraqi exports - the kind of information that had contributed to the rapid run-up in oil prices in mid-August.