Crude oil price eases slightly

Crude oil price eases slightly

LONDON (AFP): The price of crude oil eased slightly on
Tuesday, but remained above US$26 a barrel, as the market
anticipated a US cold snap and a possible OPEC output cut in the
new year.

Benchmark Brent North Sea crude for delivery in February
notched down to $26.04 a barrel in early trading deals, from
$26.24 at the close on Monday.

In New York, the reference light sweet crude January contract
closed out Monday's session at $29.76 a barrel, from $28.87 at
the close on Friday.

The sudden support for oil prices has come amid expectations
that demand could surge due to a promised U.S. cold snap, while
supply remains threatened by fitful Iraqi exports and calls for
output cuts from oil ministers from other exporters.

Oil prices, which tumbled by one quarter from the end of
November until last Friday, have since turned around, albeit
slowly.

"Supportive were forecasts of fresh cold weather in the US
northeast by the weekend," noted the GNI brokerage in a research
note. The United States is the world's largest consumer of oil.

"Temperatures across much of central and eastern Europe are
also expected to turn very cold over the next few days, which
could provide some pre-holiday gas oil demand," it added.

On the supply side meanwhile, market players were listening
closely to noises from leading ministers of the Organization of
Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), several of whom have called
for steep output cuts at a Vienna meeting scheduled for January
17.

Libya, Iran and Kuwait have all called for cuts to stop prices
falling further, with some suggesting that one million barrels a
day less oil would stop the price slump in its tracks.