Last week, oil prices broke out of the US$57-62 a barrel band they had hovered around for nearly two months, rising marginally on Tuesday as traders in Asia watched U.S. winter weather and anticipated further production cuts by OPEC. On Tuesday, light sweet crude for January delivery rose midmorning to US$62.60 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
It is predicted that as demand increases during the northern hemisphere winter, the market will strengthen further, and US$60 a barrel seems to be the new price floor. It can be noted that the winter season, when demand is typically highest, has not officially begun. Cold weather spikes demand for heating oil, pushing prices higher. Prices rose past US$62 a barrel, after a storm in the United States last week and comments from key members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries that suggest the cartel will push for further cuts in output when it meets Dec. 14 in Nigeria.
05-Dec-06 
{{comment.DateTimeStampDisplay}}
{{comment.Comments}}