Oil prices hit record 101.27 dollars
NEW YORK (AFP) — New York oil prices struck a record 101.27 dollars a barrel Wednesday amid renewed global supply jitters, analysts said.
New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in March, subsequently receded, but closed up 73 cents at an all-time high of 100.74 dollars.
The latest price spike burst Tuesday's record price of 100.10 dollars and record close at 100.01 dollars.
In London, Brent North Sea crude for April delivery settled 14 cents lower at 98.42 dollars, after striking a record 98.70 dollars Tuesday.
Prices have soared amid growing speculation that OPEC, which supplies about 40 percent of the world's oil, may cut output at its March 5 meeting in Vienna, anticipating a fall in demand at the end of the northern hemisphere winter and a US economic slowdown, analysts said.
"Supply worries and comments by some OPEC members that the group might not raise output at their March meeting provided the catalyst for the sharp rally," said Barclays Capital analyst Kevin Norrish.
Prior to Wednesday's new record, prices had traded in negative territory as many dealers opted to take profits following a rally.
"Oil gained sharply (on Tuesday) supported by a combination of factors, including persistent supply concerns," said Sucden analyst Andrey Kryuchenkov.
"In addition to continuing worries over the ongoing row between ExxonMobil and Venezuela, with the Latin American exporter threatening to cut more supplies to the US, investors are receiving more comments from various OPEC members indicating no change or even a possible cut to the group's supplies at its meeting in early March," he said.
Libya's oil chief Shukri Ghanem said that OPEC will wait to see if oil prices hold around record highs of 100 dollars before making any decision on whether to cut output.
Ghanem told AFP that with prices at current levels, OPEC wanted to see if 100 dollars per barrel prove to be the ceiling or if they would begin to fall back.
Ghanem, chairman of Libya's National Oil Corporation, said that by then, OPEC members would have more information on the global economic situation.
He said current price levels, "which have become very high," were at least as much due to financial speculation in the market as to geopolitical concerns.
Earlier this month OPEC left its official daily output ceiling at 29.67 million barrels of oil, resisting calls from US President George W. Bush to increase supplies to help bring down prices.
The price of New York crude had struck a then-record high of 100.09 dollars at the start of January.
Another major factor currently supporting prices was the ongoing row between oil-rich Venezuela and US energy giant ExxonMobil, the world's biggest oil company.
ExxonMobil says it has won court orders in New York, London, the Netherlands and the Netherlands Antilles freezing some 12 billion dollars of assets in those jurisdictions from Venezuela's state-owned oil producer PDVSA.
The legal battle relates to ExxonMobil's bid to secure compensation after Venezuela's government nationalized key oil fields in the Orinoco basin, including two ExxonMobil operations.
Traders are also on alert over possible further unrest in Nigeria, Africa's biggest crude producer, dealers said.
