Business | Oil & Gas
Oil rises over $44 ahead of Opec Algeria meeting
Oil prices rose above $44 a barrel on Wednesday in Asia as investors waited to see how big a production cut Opec will announce at a meeting in Algeria.
- AP
- Published: 12:00 December 17, 2008
Singapore: Oil prices rose above $44 a barrel on Wednesday in Asia as investors waited to see how big a production cut Opec will announce at a meeting in Algeria.
Light, sweet crude for January delivery was up 65 cents to $44.25 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midafternoon in Singapore.
The contract fell 91 cents overnight to settle at $43.60 despite signs the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries planned to announce a significant reduction of output quotas at its meeting Wednesday in Algeria.
Saudi oil minister Ali Naimi said on Tuesday that Opec, which accounts for about 40 per cent of global supply, would likely cut production by about 2 million barrels per day.
The 13-nation oil cartel announced cuts totalling 2 million barrels a day in September and October, moves that have so far failed to stem a 70 per cent drop in crude prices since
July.
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