CANCUN, Mexico (Reuters) - Oil producers and consumers plan to meet annually to discuss the outlook for energy markets as part of efforts to tackle price volatility dangerous to the economies of both groups.

The plan is part of an effort to deepen cooperation between producer and consumer members of the biannual International Energy Forum, who met this week to discuss how to address volatility in oil markets, which saw record prices swings in recent years.

The first meeting between the IEF, The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, and the International Energy Agency in Riyadh will be held in January 2011. It will follow a workshop scheduled for the end of 2010 on crude oil as a commodity and a financial asset, according to an IEF communique issued on Wednesday.

"This is a very big achievement. Years ago the producers and consumers had absolutely (no) dialogue. We are seeing a lot of change," said Qatar's Oil Minister Abdullah al-Attiyah.

Crude oil prices surged to an all-time high near $150 a barrel in 2008, when IEF members last gathered, battering the economies of consumer countries already hard hit by the financial crisis.

Prices then dropped to below $33 a barrel as fuel demand plummeted, squeezing the coffers of producer nations.

"We need a shared understanding of what triggered the volatility of 2008 and 2009. We need the analysis to make sure we do not face the same energy price volatility again," said Lord Philip Hunt, Minister of Energy and Climate Change for the United Kingdom.

"Our international agreement today will set the IEF on a course to becoming a forum that will guide action and delivery for both producers and consumers."

OPEC members and some consumer nations have expressed concern about the role of speculators in energy markets, which some experts say exaggerate price swings beyond what supply and demand fundamentals justify. The United States is proposing position limits on oil futures as part of efforts to limit volatility.

Ali al-Naimi, oil minister for top exporter Saudi Arabia, said that oil market stability had also been harmed by uncertainty about demand, which could be impacted by efforts by the United States and others to reduce oil dependency and shift to cleaner burning fuels.

"Oil producers are faced with daunting uncertainty on both sides: demand, which continues to be subject to downward revisions, and supply, where sizable but uncertain increments are being planned," Naimi said.

"Certainty and predictability in the oil market are undermined by a lack of reliable data and policy on energy supply and demand, both now and into the future. Certainty and predictability are also undermined by financial markets," he said.

NO PRICE RANGE ACCORD

The joint statement did not address a preferred oil price range for both producers and consumers.

OPEC members said this week that a price range between $70-80 a barrel was best for to spur investment in new supplies without hurting demand. U.S. crude prices closed at $83.76 a barrel on Wednesday, up $1.39.

Some consumers agreed that that was a fair range, while the United States and others stressed fundamentals were better for determining prices.

"In terms of price what do you want? Well you clearly want suppliers to feel they are being fairly treated and that it's conducive for long term investment. Equally for consumers you want a price that is not going to inhibit economic growth, especially at the near term," the U.K.'s Hunt said.