Oil prices steady ahead of OPEC meeting<\/p>\n
Agence France-Presse, Singapore<\/p>\n
Oil prices were steady in Asian trading on Monday, underpinned by
\nexpectations that OPEC will cut output when it meets this week,
\ndealers said.<\/p>\n
The benchmark New York light sweet crude contract for May
\ndelivery briefly dipped to US$30.06 a barrel in after hours trade
\nbut at around 11:50 am (0350 GMT) was back at its New York close
\nof $30.55 on Thursday when trading ceased for the Easter weekend.<\/p>\n
The lower price in early trade was \"not an accurate reflection
\nof price trends,\" said a dealer with a European firm.<\/p>\n
\"Some people were probably short-covering ahead of the (May)
\ncontract's closure. The June contract is a better representation
\nof the trend,\" he said. Trading shifts to the June contract on
\nTuesday.<\/p>\n
The dealer said the Organization of Petroleum Exporting
\nCountries (OPEC) will most likely cut output when it meets
\nThursday.<\/p>\n
But he said prices should hover around current levels unless
\nOPEC cuts production by more than one million barrels a day.<\/p>\n
OPEC ministers are expected to seek a production cut when they
\nmeet in Vienna, but deciding how output should be reduced and by
\nwhom could prove more difficult, analysts say.<\/p>\n
With OPEC already overshooting its production quota by seven
\npercent, according to March trading figures, there could be
\nheated debate over whether members' individual ceilings need to
\nbe reduced or simply observed.<\/p>\n
Among the factors clouding the cartel's deliberations will be
\nthe continuing uncertainty over when Iraqi oil exports are most
\nlikely to resume.<\/p>",
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