Crude steady on Nymex

26/01/2009

Crude oil contracts have remained broadly stable on the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) this morning (January 26th), gaining marginally on the rally seen last week.

The bourse's main contract - light, sweet crude for March delivery - stood at $46.63 (£33.67) a barrel at 10:53 GMT, up 16 cents on its opening price.

Last week's gains came as speculation grew about the prospect of further production cuts from the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec).

According to Reuters, Angolan state media cited Jose Botelho de Vasconcelos, the president of the cartel, as saying that an emergency meeting may be called if prices dip below $40 a barrel.

Further cuts could push crude back up as investors grow concerned about supply, while such a restriction could also impact on heating oil prices and other derivatives such as petrol and DERV.

At its last meeting in December, Opec voted to cut production by a record 2.2 million barrels of oil a day.