World oil prices climbed today before the release of economic growth data in the US.
World oil prices climbed today before the release of economic growth data in the US, which is the world's biggest consumer of crude.
Brent North Sea crude for delivery in March rose 65 cents to $98.04 a barrel in London trade ahead of US gross domestic product (GDP) data, due later this afternoon. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for March, gained 28 cents to $85.92 a barrel.
Amid high US inventories, OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia this week suggested that the cartel could still raise its crude output to meet an increase in demand.
The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) could raise output to meet a 2% increase in demand during 2011, Saudi's oil minister Ali al-Naimi said earlier this week.
Speaking at the Annual Global Competitiveness Forum in Riyadh, Naimi added that he expected average oil prices to be around last year's level of $80 despite a recent spike towards $100 a barrel in London.
Meanwhile the gap between Brent and New York has widened to a record, at more than $12 dollars, owing to the high level of crude stockpiles at the Cushing storage depot in Oklahoma.
Analysts also cited the poor US economic data out yesterday; higher jobless claims and disappointing orders of durable goods for additional pressure on New York crude.
S&P's shock downgrade of Japanese sovereign debt also fed market weakness. Standard & Poor's yesterday cut Japan's credit rating for the first time since 2002, accusing the government of lacking a 'coherent strategy' in efforts to ease the highest debt of any industrialised nation.
