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OPEC oil rises past 95-dollar mark, highest since September 2008
Feb 1, 2011, 9:31 GMT
Vienna - Oil produced by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) rose above 95 dollars at the start of the week, the group said Tuesday.
Climbing above this level for the first time since September 2008, the cartel's basket price reached 95.53 dollars per barrel (159 litres) on Monday, 1.43 dollars higher than at the end of last week.
OPEC' oil price moved in line with benchmark US and European crude oil brands, amid worries that the unrest in Egypt could spread to bigger oil producers in the region. North Sea brand Brent moved above the psychologically significant 100-dollar mark.
OPEC Secretary General Abdalla el-Badri indicated his group would not raise its official production ceiling to stem the price rally.
'While we are focussing on the oil price, I would like to reiterate that the oil market currently has more than enough oil to meet current demand', he said Monday at a London conference.
However, OPEC member countries raised their output in January, complying even less with the production limit than in previous months, according to analysts at JBC Energy in Vienna.
JBC Energy estimated OPEC's January production at 29.81 million barrels per day, the highest level since the end of 2008.
'With Brent futures trading at close to 100 dollars per barrel at the moment, there is apparently a big incentive for all OPEC member countries to bring additional barrels onto the market,' the analysts said.
Read more about OPEC Energy
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