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Crude oil hovers over $73

22 December 2009 07:55 (UTC +04:00)

Bakuâ€“ APA-Economics. Crude oil traded little changed before the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries meets today in Angola, where the group is expected to maintain production targets, Bloomberg reported.

Oil was above $73 a barrel as OPEC, which pumps 40 percent of the worldâ€™s oil, will â€œabsolutely notâ€ change its output quotas, Saudi Arabiaâ€™s Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said yesterday. Distillate fuel inventories in the U.S., the worldâ€™s largest energy user, probably fell as colder weather moved across the countryâ€™s north, according to a Bloomberg News survey.

Crude oil for February delivery was at $73.77, up 5 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 1:40 p.m. Singapore time. The January contract, which expired yesterday, fell 89 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $72.47 a barrel.

Prices have gained 65 percent this year as OPECâ€™s pledge in 2008 to reduce 4.2 million barrels a day of output took effect. The 12-member group left targets unchanged for a third time when it last gathered in September.

Al-Naimi predicted â€œgradual, steady growthâ€ in the global economy next year. All the 36 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News last week said they expected OPEC to maintain formal production limits today in Luanda, Angola.

Brent crude oil for February settlement traded at $72.94 a barrel, down 5 cents, on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange at 1:39 p.m. Singapore time. Yesterday, the contract lost 76 cents, or 1 percent, to settle at $72.99 a barrel.