RIYADH King Fahd is alive and well and has held a series of meetings, a top Saudi official told AFP on Monday after rumors of his death sent oil prices rocketing on world markets.

"The rumors about King Fahd are false, we are very surprised at this," the official said. "He is alive and well."

Fahd on Sunday met several new ambassadors to the kingdom, including from Britain, Canada, Iran, Mexico, Pakistan and Venezuela, as well as Saudi sports officials and a football team, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The rumors emerged from Kuwait, where an official spoke off the record to reporters affirming that the Saudi king, who has been ill since a stroke in 1995, had died.

Born in 1921, Fahd has since 1982 reigned over a country which is the world's largest petroleum exporter and holds a quarter of global oil reserves.

Due to his ailing health, the king has gradually delegated the day-to-day business of government to his half-brother, Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz.