JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia – Saudi Arabia blamed speculators. The United States pushed for more production. A meeting Sunday designed to find ways to calm soaring oil prices instead highlighted the disagreements over what has caused the spike.

For consumers worldwide, that could mean little relief, at least for now.

Saudi Arabia said Sunday that it will produce more crude oil this year if the market needs it. But the vague pledge, at a rare meeting called by the Saudis, fell far short of U.S. hopes for a firm commitment of more output from the world’s top crude exporter.

Some oil analysts were immediately dismissive, predicting prices would go higher because the market had hoped for a bolder move from Saudi Arabia. U.S. officials were cautious but saw no breakthrough.

Oil closed near $135 a barrel Friday, almost double the price a year ago.

The U.S. and other nations say oil production has not kept up with increasing demand, especially from China, India and the Middle East. But Saudi Arabia and other OPEC countries say there’s no shortage of oil and instead blame financial speculation and the falling U.S. dollar.

“In today’s environment, I am convinced that supply-and-demand balances and crude oil production levels are not the primary drivers of the current market situation,” said Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimial-Naimi.

King Abdullah, too, said Saudi Arabia is not the culprit.

The king cited several factors driving “the unjustified swift rise in oil prices,” including “speculators who play the market out of selfish interests,” higher consumption by developing countries and higher taxes in some countries.

U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman, however, said earlier that U.S. officials had found no evidence that speculators are driving up prices.

Saudi Arabia announced a 300,000 barrel-per-day production increase in May and said before the start of the Jiddah meeting that it would add another 200,000 barrels per day in July, raising total daily output to 9.7 million barrels.