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/ 1 February 2008
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) left unchanged its oil-production ceiling on Friday, snubbing United States demands for an increase as the cartel focuses on supporting prices that have fallen 10% since the start of the year. Explaining its decision, Opec said that stockpiles of crude were likely to increase in the first half of 2008.
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/ 31 January 2008
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) on Thursday looked set to rebuff consumer calls for more crude oil, saying it was powerless to help stave off recessionary pressures in the West. Enjoying a sixth year of crude price gains, Opec argues it can do little to help avoid a slowdown in the United States, its leading customer.
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/ 29 January 2008
Opec is widely expected to resist consumer calls for more oil when it meets on Friday, worried by a slowing United States economy and the onset of seasonally lower demand in the spring. Oil has fallen to around a barrel from a record ,09 on January 3, easing pressure on Opec to pump more.
Oil at a barrel should give exporters every incentive to pump more, but their difficulty in doing so shows the world is struggling to sustain production. A growing number of leading industry figures now question mainstream forecasts for supply, suggesting the era of ”plateau oil” is nearer than many had admitted.
Oil prices dipped on Thursday, after leaping to a lifetime high of the day before, fuelled by expectations of thinning United States stockpiles, the falling dollar and geopolitical risks. US light crude for February delivery fell 32 cents to ,30 a barrel in Globex electronic trading by 5.24am GMT. US crude touched a barrel in the previous session.
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/ 26 December 2007
Oil prices of near per barrel caused alarm in consuming countries in 2007, and analysts forecast another tense crude market next year with triple-figure records a real prospect. Despite a murky outlook for the world economy, crude prices are seen settling at elevated levels.
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/ 5 December 2007
Oil rose on Wednesday after the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) decided to keep output levels unchanged, rebuffing consumer-country calls for more crude to rein in prices now near a barrel. Opec also agreed to meet again at the end of January to review its decision ahead of a regular March gathering.
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/ 4 December 2007
The biggest Persian Gulf producers of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) are leaving open the option of an oil-supply increase that could influence whether crude prices head back towards a barrel. Oil ministers, gathering to meet on Wednesday, have adopted a coordinated line to insist that supplies are sufficient to meet winter demand.
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/ 3 December 2007
Ali al-Nuaimi, the Oil Minister of Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) kingpin Saudi Arabia, said on Monday that it was premature to talk about a possible increase in crude production by the cartel. "Right now it will be very premature to tell you what the assessment is" of oil data, he said.
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/ 3 December 2007
Oil bounced back above a barrel on Monday as traders bet last week’s nearly sell-off was overdone, and might turn the tides against an expected increase in output by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries when the cartel meets later this week.
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/ 1 December 2007
Oil prices fell back below a barrel on Friday amid speculation that the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) will decide to increase its output at a meeting next week, analysts said. New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for January delivery, fell ,03 to close at ,71 per barrel, after earlier striking a one-month low of ,52.
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/ 30 November 2007
The price of oil fell back below a barrel on Friday as the market speculated about the chances of an increase in Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries output at the cartel’s meeting next week, dealers said. New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for January delivery, was down ,75 to ,35 per barrel.
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/ 26 November 2007
Oil prices rose to near a barrel on Monday on signs of colder weather in the United States and Europe and the continued weakness of the dollar. The Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday marked the unofficial start of winter in the US. Among other areas, south-eastern New Mexico got up to 23cm of snow.
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/ 13 November 2007
Oil prices dropped on Tuesday after a key Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) member left open the possibility the oil cartel will increase output to curb rising prices, and following the strengthening of the dollar overnight. Light, sweet crude for December delivery fell by six cents to ,56 a barrel.
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/ 11 November 2007
There is no fundamental justification for oil at a barrel and Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) member Nigeria is assuming that prices will not last at this level, Oil Minister Odein Ajumogobia said on Saturday. He said that no one in Opec would be surprised if the price fell to in the next few weeks.
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/ 7 November 2007
Oil prices jumped to a new trading record above $98 a barrel on Wednesday amid expectations of declining United States supplies. The weak dollar and the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’s apparent reluctance to pump more crude into the market also boosted prices.
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/ 6 November 2007
Oil leapt more than a barrel to a new record high of ,44 on Tuesday, as a weak dollar and tight fuel stocks prompted buying by speculators. Investors, wary of global equity markets where the full impact of the credit crunch has yet to become clear, see oil as a good bet.
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/ 5 November 2007
Oil prices fell more than a barrel on Monday as traders pocketed gains from the previous session’s record settlement. The release of eight Turkish soldiers by Kurdish rebels on Sunday also contributed to the decline, easing some concerns about whether Turkey will launch attacks on guerrilla bases in northern Iraq.
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/ 29 October 2007
Oil prices jumped to fresh historic highs on Monday, breaching $93 for the first time on mounting concerns about tight energy supplies worldwide, analysts said. Investors pushed up crude futures to new peaks as more bad news in the shape of Mexican production cutbacks came on top of already serious tensions in the Middle East.
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/ 27 October 2007
World oil prices surged to historic highs on Friday, breaching $92 for the first time in New York amid rising tension in crude-rich Iran and tightening United States energy supplies. New York’s main futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in December, soared to a record intraday high of $92,22 per barrel.
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/ 17 October 2007
Oil marched to a new peak of a barrel on Wednesday as investors fretted over possible military action in northern Iraq and a potential supply crunch this winter. Turkey’s Parliament on Wednesday granted its troops permission to launch an attack inside Iraqi territory, despite international pressure not to.
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/ 16 October 2007
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) voiced concern on Tuesday over oil’s relentless rise towards $88 a barrel, but some members said the exporter group can do nothing more to control the rally. Opec agreed last month to raise production by 500 000 barrels per day from November 1.
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/ 15 October 2007
Oil prices surged above a barrel on Monday for the first time after the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) said crude production by non-Opec countries is falling even as global demand for oil is rising. Prices were also supported by concerns Turkish forces will pursue Kurdish rebels into Iraq.
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/ 18 September 2007
Oil prices topped 81 dollars a barrel for the first time on Tuesday, setting another record high amid fears of critically tight supplies for the winter season in the United States. Opec’s announcement last week that it would pump an extra 500 000 barrels per day from November has failed to stop the surge in price.
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/ 14 September 2007
New York oil prices fell on Friday on profit-taking after striking a fresh record peak above $80 a barrel overnight on concerns over tight supplies of United States crude, dealers said. New York’s main futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in October dropped 57 cents to $79,52 per barrel.
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/ 13 September 2007
Oil prices dipped on Thursday but held near the previous day’s record high above a barrel, as dealers watched a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico after a sharp fall in United States crude stocks. US crude traded 12 cents lower at ,79 a barrel by 8.39am GMT, after climbing ,68 on Wednesday, when it hit a record of ,18.
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/ 12 September 2007
New York crude oil prices reached a barrel on Wednesday for the first time as the market fretted over declining United States reserves and a new tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico. Prices shot higher after news that US crude reserves fell by a sharper-than-expected 7,1-million barrels over the past week.
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/ 12 September 2007
Oil hit a record high of nearly $79 a barrel on Wednesday, after the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’s (Opec) modest output increase failed to allay winter supply concerns and ahead of United States inventory data. US light crude for October delivery set a record high of $78,99 a barrel.
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/ 12 September 2007
Oil prices slipped on Wednesday after finishing at a record close in the previous session on worries about tight supplies. Light, sweet crude for October delivery fell six cents to ,17 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by late afternoon in Singapore.
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/ 7 September 2007
United States President George Bush, who reportedly once told aides he dislikes the "small talk in big rooms" of summitry, seemed not entirely sure on Friday which world leader gathering was going. Opening the keynote speech of his visit to Sydney, Bush thanked Australian Prime Minister John Howard "for being such a fine host for the Opec summit’.