Oil prices lose 6% on Opec output call
March 10, 2006
London - Oil hovered around $60 yesterday after losing nearly 6 percent this week on the Opec cartel's decision to keep pumping at near full rates and as US crude stocks jumped.
London Brent crude traded 41c higher at $60.44 a barrel (R2.36 a litre). US light crude for April delivery fell 17c to $59.85.
Oil fell sharply on Wednesday after US government data showed that crude stocks climbed 6.8 million barrels last week.
"We've had some very bearish statistics and it's taken a lot of pressure off the market," said John Brady of ABN Amro. "Barring any geopolitical disruptions, we could head $2 to $4 lower."
Oil has fallen this week in tandem with other markets, including metals and high-yield currencies, with traders fearing the end of an era of cheap money around the world.
Traders are still concerned, however, about possible disruptions to supplies from major producers Iran and Nigeria.
Iran's President Mahoud Ahmadinejad said the West would suffer more than Iran if it continued to try to stop the Islamic Republic from developing nuclear technology.
In Nigeria, militants have decided to appoint a mediator to seek a resolution to a campaign of sabotage and kidnapping that has cut supplies from the world's eighth-largest exporter. - Reuters
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