DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 19 (Reuters) - International Energy Agency (IEA) head Fatih Birol said on Thursday that energy markets could be tighter in 2023, adding he hoped prices would not rise further in order to ease the pressure on energy-importing developing countries. "I wouldn't be too relaxed about the markets and 2023 may well be a year where we see tighter markets than some colleagues may think," IEA Executive Director Birol said in an interview with the Reuters Global Markets Forum in Davos. Two Gulf OPEC+ producers, UAE energy minister Suhail al-Mazrouei and Saudi Aramco chief Amin Nasser, have said this week they see oil markets as balanced. Birol said Russian oil exports seemed to be more "resilient" than predicted at the beginning of last year, but that they were correct in terms of "the direction of travel". On Russian product price caps which may come into effect next month, Birol said he was concerned about diesel supply.

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