CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Wednesday $100 per barrel is a fair price for oil, as global crude prices approach triple digits.

"The price of oil (is) almost 100 dollars per barrel, which is the fair price, and I'm sure we'll continue along that path," Chavez told a group of demonstrators in Caracas.

Venezuela has consistently called for higher oil prices and tends to be more aggressive in seeking production cuts in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries than other OPEC members.

Chavez has boosted his popularity at home by using oil revenues to finance social development programs.

Venezuela is the fourth-largest exporter of oil to the United States.

(Reporting by Ana Isabel Martinez; writing by Brian Ellsworth; editing by Mohammad Zargham)