FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- Oil futures gained on Monday, recovering from their decline in Asian trading, as Qatar's oil minister said that the OPEC oil cartel is unlikely to raise its output this year.
Crude oil for February delivery rose 57 cents, or 0.7%, to $78.57 a barrel in electronic trading on Globex.
Earlier in the session, the contract hit an intraday low of $77.05 per barrel, its lowest intraday level since Dec. 23.
Oil prices rebounded as Qatar's oil minister, Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah, said Monday that he doesn't think the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will need to increase its oil production this year, Zawya Dow Jones reported.
The minister told reporters in Abu Dhabi that the oil market is "very well-supplied," according to the report.
Regular trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange will be closed on Monday for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
Oil prices finished lower on Friday, recording a decline of nearly 6% for the week, as forecasts of warmer weather dimmed the outlook for demand.
The International Energy Agency said Friday that the recent bout of cold weather wasn't enough to boost demand projections for the first quarter. It left its forecasts for global oil demand for 2009 and 2010 virtually unchanged. See Friday's Futures Movers.
"Heating oil demand has not been as high as expected, and so crude prices now are being driven more by gasoline demand than by heating oil demand," said Charles Perry, president of energy-consulting firm Perry Management.
