The United Arab Emirates energy minister says the global economy is still in crisis and demand for crude remains fragile.

Mohamed bin Dha'en Al Hamili told reporters Monday that a crude price between $80 and $100 a barrel is reasonable. Al Hamili said lower prices would undermine investment in the energy industry and hurt production capacity.

The minister said UAE raised crude output when Libya's production dropped this year, and that it is too early to know when Libya's supplies will return to the market.

Al Hamili said UAE is producing 2.5 million barrel of crude per day and plans to raise its capacity to 3.5 million from its current 2.7 million.

Crude has jumped to near $93 from $75 earlier this month amid easing fears of a U.S. recession.