The head of OPEC said Wednesday December 7,2011 that speculators are at least partly to blame for high oil prices -- not any lack of supply on world markets.

Speaking at a World Petroleum Congress panel, OPEC Secretary General Abdulla Salem El Badri said the world has plenty of crude but that the number of barrels of oil changing hands in the financial markets is 35 times greater than the actual supply.

The numbers he cited were 3 billion barrels per day traded on global exchanges, but only 76 million barrels per day in actual supply.

"Oil resources are clearly plentiful," said Badri, a Libyan. "Speculation is playing a very important part in inflating these prices."

Yet Badri doesn't think the cost of oil -- currently near $100 a barrel in the United States -- is excessively high.

"The current price is comfortable for producers and consumers," he said. "It allows producers to make investments, yet doesn't hinder the global economy."

Not so, said Maria van der Hoeven, head of the International Energy Agency, appearing opposite Badri on a panel moderated by CNN's John Defterios.

"The oil burden in 2011 is set to exceed 2008 levels," said van der Hoeven, referring to the percent of people's pay that will be devoted to fuel. "For consumers, crude prices are alarmingly high."