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Oil prices are still close to $40

03 February 2009 09:55 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Vahab Rzayev â€“ APA-Economics. Crude oil rose in New York on speculation that OPEC, led by Saudi Arabia, cut its output in January to avoid a supply glut and bolster prices, Bloomberg reports.
Production from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries averaged 28.565 million barrels a day last month, down 3.5 percent from December, according to a Bloomberg News survey of oil companies, producers and analysts. A government report yesterday showed U.S. consumer spending fell in December for a record sixth consecutive month, raising concern that fuel consumption has dropped.
Crude oil for March delivery gained as much as 71 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $40.79 a barrel in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was at $40.37 a barrel at 4:09 p.m. Singapore time.
Yesterday, futures fell $1.60, or 3.8 percent, to $40.08, the lowest settlement since Jan. 20. Prices are down 9.1 percent this year and are 55 percent lower than a year earlier.
Brent crude oil for March settlement rose as much as $1.03, or 2.4 percent, to $44.85 a barrel on Londonâ€™s ICE Futures Europe exchange.
Saudi Arabia, OPECâ€™s biggest producer and the worldâ€™s top oil exporter, reduced output by 375,000 barrels a day last month to an average 8.025 million barrels a day, the lowest since December 2002. Production was 26,000 barrels a day less than its target of 8.051 million barrels a day, the survey showed.