Business | Oil & Gas
Oil rises towards $44, Opec expected to cut
Oil crept towards $44 on Tuesday, modestly supported by gains on other financial markets and mounting expectation that Opec would announce further output cuts at its meeting next week.
- Agencies
- Published: 19:07 December 9, 2008
London: Oil crept towards $44 on Tuesday, modestly supported by gains on other financial markets and mounting expectation that Opec would announce further output cuts at its meeting next week.
US crude was up 14 cents at $43.85 a barrel at 1309 GMT. On Monday, prices had gained $2.90 as they recovered from last week's 25 percent drop, which marked the biggest weekly fall in 18 years.
London Brent crude eased by 18 cents to $43.24.
"Oil is on a count-down to Opec now and everyone is expecting them to come up with something big -- probably a cut of 1-1.5 million bpd,"said Rob Laughlin, senior oil analyst at brokers MF Global in London.
"If Opec doesn't make a big cut, this market is in trouble."
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries meets on December 17 in Algeria and is expected to reduce overall production by a minimum of one million barrels per day (bpd).
Related Links
Stock markets surged on Monday as the US government cobbled together a rescue plan for stricken automakers and US President-elect Barack Obama said he would undertake the biggest infrastructure spending since the 1950s.
The White House reviewed a Democratic plan to bail out the "Big Three" automakers with $15 billion of loans.
But fuel demand could stay weak for the foreseeable future.
Business Editor's choice
-
‘Wrong Way' Krugman
The source of our economic malfunction lies with government-mandated bank regulations
-
Greek exit could make Eurozone stronger
Departure will show limits of bailouts and allow remaining members to act much more like a unit
-
UAE upholds values of free trade
Recently released statistics confirm an established fact, namely that of the UAE embracing the free trade principle in general and imports in particular
