Oil hits 22-mont high in Asian trade

Oil hits 22-mont high in Asian trade

SINGAPORE (Reuters): Crude prices in Asia rose to fresh 22-
month highs on Wednesday, underpinned by producers' tight grip on
world supplies.

October Brent crude futures, trading on the Singapore
International Monetary Exchange (SIMEX) rose to $21.48 per
barrel, the highest level since October 1997.

The price level represents the latest in a succession of highs
for oil, which has more than doubled in price since February as
key producers -- dominated by OPEC -- tightened the taps on
production.

October Brent on SIMEX was holding at $21.48 at 0800 GMT, up
15 cents from London's close on Tuesday.

However, October New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) crude
futures -- on the after-hours ACCESS system -- were four cents
lower at $22.07 per barrel when compared with New York's close on
Tuesday.

The Saturday meeting in Caracas between oil ministers of
OPEC's Saudi Arabia and Venezuela, plus non-OPEC's Mexico
reinforced the view that producers would not loosen supplies
until April 2000.

Traders said American Petroleum Institute (API) data released
late on Tuesday in New York did not provide a clear outlook for
the market.

The data showed that national crude stocks rose 2.6 million
barrels last week from the week earlier, when the market had
expected a two-million barrel drop.