Gordon Brown will urge Gulf states to do more to stabilise oil prices as he kicks off a visit to the region on Saturday.

The Prime Minister will stress that the countries must maintain production levels to avoid "spikes" in prices like those which contributed to recent global financial turmoil.

He will also insist they have a duty to use some of their massive oil wealth to help ease the impact of the credit crunch on the world economy.

Mr Brown's four-day tour comes amid fears that the International Monetary Fund's 155 billion pound reserves may not be enough for future bailouts of struggling states.

The fund has already allocated around £18.6 billion pounds in emergency loans to Iceland, Hungary and Ukraine, and Pakistan has signalled it may request aid in the next fortnight.

While Europe and the US face recession, OPEC members are estimated to have more than 311 billion pounds in foreign exchange reserves stashed away.

The growing importance of Middle East capital was emphasised yesterday when it emerged that Barclays raised £7.3 billion from investors in the region to shore up its position.

Mr Brown will be joined for parts of his visit by Business Secretary Lord Mandelson, Energy, Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband, and a delegation of senior executives from UK firms.

Downing Street said the PM would be emphasising the importance of "transparency and stability" in the oil price, and calling for "dialogue" between oil consumers and producers.

He will also urge Gulf states to invest in renewable energy sources "over the longer term", according to a spokesman.

Number 10 sees the visit as a key part of preparations for a summit on forging new international financial rules, which is being held in the US on November 15.

There has been speculation that Middle East states - along with China - will demand more power in return for signing up to reforms and investing cash from their sovereign wealth funds.

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