Oil prices remain high

Oil prices remain high

SINGAPORE (Reuters): Crude prices in Asia on Thursday were holding overnight highs, underpinned by reports of lower oil stocks in the United States.

New York Mercantile Exchange September U.S. crude futures trading on the electronic ACCESS system in Asia were last traded at an intraday high of $21.53 per barrel at 0620 GMT, just above New York's close of $21.52, the highest settlement price since October 10, 1997.

On Wednesday, crude futures in London and New York traded at 22-month highs, boosted by the stock data and a perception that the supply curbs would erase the glut entirely in coming months.

Paris-based International Energy Agency in a monthly report released earlier this week said OPEC's compliance with its pledged cuts rose to 91 percent in July from 87 percent in June.

But BP Amoco's Chief Executive John Browne said, after the release of the group's second quarter results on Tuesday, that while the output restraint had eaten into supplies, stocks were still running above a four-year trend.